N-Myristoyltransferase 1 (NMT1)

Myristate, a rare 14-carbon saturated fatty acid, is cotranslationally attached by an amide linkage to the N-terminal glycine residue of cellular and viral proteins with diverse functions. N-myristoyltransferase (NMT; EC 2.3.1.97) catalyzes the transfer of myristate from CoA to proteins. N-myristoylation appears to be irreversible and is required for full expression of the biologic activities of several N-myristoylated proteins, including the alpha subunit of the signal-transducing guanine nucleotide-binding protein (G protein) GO (GNAO1). Insertional mutagenesis of the Nmt1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae causes recessive lethality, indicating that N-myristoylation provides an essential function for one or more of the approximately 12 proteins of this yeast that are substrates for Nmt1.