Dnmt3a - DNA methyltransferase 3A

This is one of two related genes encoding de novo DNA methyltransferases, which are responsible for the establishment of DNA methylation patterns in embryos. Loss of function of this gene causes developmental defects in multiple different organ systems. There is a pseudogene for this gene located on chromosome 3. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding multiple isoforms have been observed. [provided by RefSeq, Nov 2012]