Enables glycine hydroxymethyltransferase activity. Involved in regulation of mitochondrial translation; regulation of oxidative phosphorylation; and tetrahydrofolate interconversion. Located in nucleus. Is expressed in several structures, including brain; neural retina; placenta; skeleton; and submandibular gland primordium. Orthologous to human SHMT2 (serine hydroxymethyltransferase 2). [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Apr 2022]