Methylation of DNA at cytosine residues plays an important role in regulation of gene expression, genomic imprinting and is essential for mammalian development. DNMT2 is expressed at low levels in adult tissues and its inactivation does not affect DNA methylation or maintenance of methylation. DNMT2 contains all the sequence motifs diagnostic of DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferases but appears to lack the large N-terminal regulatory domain common to other eukaryotic methyltransferases.