Methyltransferases and Demethylases

The post-translational modification of methylation plays an important role in the expression, structure, and function of biological molecules such as proteins, DNA/RNA, and small molecules. This modification has recently gained much attention for its roles in epigenetics and cancer. The methylation status is determined by two types of enzymes. Methyltransferases transfer a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to their targets, whereas demethylases remove methyl groups from their targets. Methyltransferases and demethylases can be further divided into different groups based on their targeted molecules and specificities as described below.