This domain is found at the N-terminus of tetrahydrodipicolinate N-succinyltransferase (DapH) which catalyzes the acylation of L-2-amino-6-oxopimelate to 2-N-succinyl-6-oxopimelate in the meso-diaminopimelate/lysine biosynthetic pathway of bacteria, blue-green algae, and plants. The N-terminal domain as defined here contains three alpha-helices and two twisted hairpin loops.