Figure 1.

Sequence conservation among vaccinia and kinetoplastid cap-dependent 2′-O nucleoside methyltransferases. The amino acid sequences of TbCom1 and T.cruzi (TcCom1: XP_81711), and L.major (LmCom1: CAJ03958) homologs are aligned to the sequence of vaccinia virus VP39. Side-chain identity in all proteins is highlighted by shaded boxes. Gaps in the alignment are indicated by dashes. VP39 amino acid side-chains that contact AdoMet or the m⁷G cap are indicated by ‘a’ and ‘c’, respectively. The secondary structure of VP39 is indicated below the aligned sequences. The β-strands are depicted as arrows and α-helices as bars. TbCom1 residues that were mutated to alanine in this study are denoted by asterisks above the sequence.