mel-32 encodes a serine hydroxymethyltransferase; by homology, MEL-32 is predicted to catalyze the biochemical reaction that converts serine to glycine and in the process transfers a methyl group to tetrahydrofolate and, thus, into the one-carbon pool used for a variety of cellular metabolic processes; in C. elegans MEL-32 activity is required maternally for embryonic development past the 100-cell stage.
Predicted to enable several functions, including glycine hydroxymethyltransferase activity; ion binding activity; and nucleic acid binding activity. Involved in embryo development. Located in mitochondrion. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Is an ortholog of human SHMT1 (serine hydroxymethyltransferase 1).