Small ubiquitin-related modifier 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SUMO1 gene.

This gene encodes a protein that is a member of the SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) protein family. It functions in a manner similar to ubiquitin in that it is bound to target proteins as part of a post-translational modification system. However, unlike ubiquitin which targets proteins for degradation, this protein is involved in a variety of cellular processes, such as nuclear transport, transcriptional regulation, apoptosis, and protein stability. It is not active until the last four amino acids of the carboxy-terminus have been cleaved off. Several pseudogenes have been reported for this gene. Alternate transcriptional splice variants encoding different isoforms have been characterized. [provided by RefSeq].
Function: Ubiquitin-like protein that can be covalently attached to proteins as a monomer or a lysine-linked polymer. Covalent attachment via an isopeptide bond to its substrates requires prior activation by the E1 complex SAE1-SAE2 and linkage to the E2 enzyme UBE2I, and can be promoted by E3 ligases such as PIAS1-4, RANBP2 or CBX4. This post-translational modification on lysine residues of proteins plays a crucial role in a number of cellular processes such as nuclear transport, DNA replication and repair, mitosis and signal transduction. Involved for instance in targeting RANGAP1 to the nuclear pore complex protein RANBP2. Polymeric SUMO1 chains are also susceptible to polyubiquitination which functions as a signal for proteasomal degradation of modified proteins. May also regulate a network of genes involved in palate development.