The SET domain is a highly conserved, approximately 150-amino acid motif implicated in the modulation of chromatin structure.

It was originally identified as part of a larger conserved region present in the Drosophila Trithorax protein and was subsequently identified in the Drosophila Su(var)3-9 and 'Enhancer of zeste' proteins, from which the acronym SET is derived.

Asynapsed homologs are transcriptionally inactivated by a process of meiotic silencing.

[7] SETDB1 protein has been identified as the bridge linking the DNA damage response to chromosome silencing in male mice.

[8]> This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.