InterPro domain: IPR024072

Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) catalyses the NADPH-dependent reduction of dihydrofolate to tetrahydrofolate, an essential step in de novo synthesis both of glycine and of purines and deoxythymidine phosphate (the precursors of DNA synthesis) [ 1 ], and important also in the conversion of deoxyuridine monophosphate to deoxythymidine monophosphate.

This superfamily represents a structural domain found in dihydrofolate reductases, as well as in riboflavin biosynthesis proteins (usually as a C-terminal domain) and related enzymes.

1. A gene for dihydrofolate reductase in a herpesvirus. Science 239, 1145-7