Histone methyltransferase that specifically represses expression of the surface antigen-coding var genes by mediating trimethylation of 'Lys-36' of histone H3 (H3K36me3) on var genes. SETVS-dependent H3K36me3 is specifically involved in var genes silencing, a central step malaria pathogenesis: each parasite contains 60 distinct var genes that each code for a different PfEMP1 protein. During infection, the clonal parasite population expresses only 1 gene at a time, while the 59 other var genes are silenced. The parasite then switches to the expression of a new variant antigen as an immune-evasion mechanism to avoid the host antibody response. Represses expression of both var mRNA and antisense long non-coding RNA