Nucleic acid dioxygenase ALKBH1 (ALKBH1)

Dioxygenase that acts as on nucleic acids, such as DNA and tRNA (PubMed:18603530, PubMed:27745969, PubMed:27497299). A number of actions have been described for this dioxygenase, but recent results suggest that it mainly functions as on tRNAs and mediates their demethylation or oxidation depending on the circumstance and subcellular compartment (PubMed:27745969, PubMed:27497299).

Mainly functions as a tRNA demethylase by removing N(1)-methyladenine from various tRNAs, with a preference for N(1)-methyladenine at position 58 (m1A58) present on a stem loop structure of tRNAs (PubMed:27745969). Acts as a regulator of translation initiation and elongation in response to glucose deprivation: modulates both translation initiation, by mediating demethylation of tRNA(Met), and translation elongation, N(1)-methyladenine-containing tRNAs being preferentially recruited to polysomes to promote translation elongation (PubMed:27745969).