S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM), also known under the commercial names of SAMe, SAM-e, or AdoMet, is a common cosubstrate involved in methyl group transfers, transsulfuration, and aminopropylation. Although these anabolic reactions occur throughout the body, most SAM is produced and consumed in the liver. More than 40 methyl transfers from SAM are known, to various substrates such as nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and secondary metabolites. It is made from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and methionine by methionine adenosyltransferase. SAM was first discovered by Giulio Cantoni in 1952.
Methyltransferases are a large group of enzymes that all methylate their substrates but can be split into several subclasses based on their structural features. The most common class of methyltransferases is class I, all of which contain a Rossmann fold for binding S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM). Class II methyltransferases contain a SET domain, which are exemplified by SET domain histone methyltransferases, and class III methyltransferases, which are membrane associated. Methyltransferases can also be grouped as different types utilizing different substrates in methyl transfer reactions. These types include protein methyltransferases, DNA/RNA methyltransferases, natural product methyltransferases, and non-SAM dependent methyltransferases. SAM is the classical methyl donor for methyltransferases, however, examples of other methyl donors are seen in nature. The general mechanism for methyl transfer is a SN2-like nucleophilic attack where the methionine sulfur serves as the leaving group and the methyl group attached to it acts as the electrophile that transfers the methyl group to the enzyme substrate. SAM is converted to S-Adenosyl homocysteine (SAH) during this process. The breaking of the SAM-methyl bond and the formation of the substrate-methyl bond happen nearly simultaneously. These enzymatic reactions are found in many pathways and are implicated in genetic diseases, cancer, and metabolic diseases. Another type of methyl transfer is the radical S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM) which is the methylation of unactivated carbon atoms in primary metabolites, proteins, lipids, and RNA.
DNA adenine methylase, (Dam methylase) (also site-specific DNA-methyltransferase (adenine-specific), EC 2.1.1.72, modification methylase, restriction-modification system) is an enzyme that adds a methyl group to the adenine of the sequence 5'-GATC-3' in newly synthesized DNA. Immediately after DNA synthesis, the daughter strand remains unmethylated for a short time. It is an orphan methyltransferase that is not part of a restriction-modification system and regulates gene expression. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
16S rRNA (adenine1408-N1)-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.180, kanamycin-apramycin resistance methylase, 16S rRNA:m1A1408 methyltransferase, KamB, NpmA, 16S rRNA m1A1408 methyltransferase) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (adenine1408-N1)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
23S rRNA (guanine745-N1)-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.187, Rlma(I), Rlma1, 23S rRNA m1G745 methyltransferase, YebH, RlmAI methyltransferase, ribosomal RNA(m1G)-methylase, rRNA(m1G)methylase, RrmA, 23S rRNA:m1G745 methyltransferase) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:23S rRNA (guanine745-N1)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
