中文摘要：

SET蛋白是一类包含保守的SET结构域、与组蛋白甲基化密切相关的蛋白质。组蛋白修饰作为调控基因表达的重要因素，在植物体基因转录调控中发挥关键的作用。有关SET蛋白的研究为深入了解组蛋白修饰的机制提供了重要信息。植物SET蛋白具有保守的结构特征及进化机制，参与众多细胞核内的反应过程，如染色体的浓缩和分离，基因的转录，以及DNA的复制和修复等，调控植物基因的表达，影响植物体的发育。

英文摘要：

SET domain proteins contain conserved SET domains, which intensively involved in histone methylation. Histone modification plays an important part in transcriptional regulation in plants emerging as a central theme in the control of gene expression. SET domain proteins have been extensively studied in recent years, which are required to elucidate the mechanism of histone modification. In this review, the conserved structure and evolu- tionary mechanism of SET domain proteins in plants was first described. Furthermore, their complex biological functions were discussed, involved in the condensation and isolation of chromosome, the transcription of gene, and the replication and repair of DNA, and so on. It is revealed that SET domain proteins in plants are important for determining epigenetic regulation of gene expression and plant development.