Methyltransferase Like Protein 11A (METTL11A)

METTL11A encodes an N-terminal methyltransferase for the RAN guanine nucleotide exchange factor regulator of chromosome condensation 1 (RCC1; MIM 179710). METTL11A enzyme alpha-N-methylates other protein targets such as SET and RB.NRMT encodes a 25-kD protein in the methyltransferase-11 family, most members of which methylate metabolites or other small molecules. NRMT lacks a SET domain but possesses a Rossman-like alpha/beta fold. It has been conserved throughout eukaryotic evolution. NRMT is the authentic RCC1 alpha-N-methyltransferase using in vivo methylation assays. Knockdown of NRMT recapitulated the multispindle phenotype seen with methylation-defective RCC1 mutants, demonstrating the importance of alpha-N-methylation for normal bipolar spindle formation and chromosome segregation.