Recognition of shorter and longer trimethyllysine analogues by epigenetic reader proteins

Histone N-epsilon-lysine methylation is a widespread posttranslational modification that is specifically recognised by a diverse class of N-epsilon-methyllysine binding reader proteins. Combined thermodynamic data, molecular dynamics simulations, and quantum chemical studies reveal that reader proteins efficiently bind trimethylornithine and trimethylhomolysine, the simplest N-epsilon-trimethyllysine analogues that differ in the length of the side chain.