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S-Adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) synthetase (SAMS:EC2.5.1.6) catalyses the formation of AdoMet from methionine and ATP. We have cloned a gene for Plasmodium falciparum AdoMet synthetase (PfSAMS) (GenBank accession no. AF097923), con-sisting of 1209 base pairs with no introns. The gene encodes a polypeptide (PfSAMS) of 402 amino acids with a molecular mass of 44844 Da, and has an overall base composition of 67 % A›T. PfSAMS is probably a single copy gene, and was mapped to chromosome 9. The PfSAMS protein is highly homologous to all other SAMS, including a conserved motif for the phosphate-binding P-loop, HGGGAFSGKD, and the signature hexa-peptide, GAGDQG. All the active-site amino acids for the binding of ADP, P i and metal ions are similarly preserved, matching entirely those of human hepatic SAMS and Escherichi