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In biology, histones are highly basic proteins abundant in lysine and arginine residues that are found in eukaryotic cell nuclei and in most Archaeal phyla. They act as spools around which DNA winds to create structural units called nucleosomes .
Histones are proteins that package DNA into nucleosomes. [1] Histones are responsible for maintaining the shape and structure of a nucleosome. One chromatin molecule is composed of at least one of each core histones per 100 base pairs of DNA. [2] There are five families of histones known to date; these histones are termed H1/H5, H2A, H2B, H3 ...
Basic units of chromatin structure. Histone H3 is one of the five main histones involved in the structure of chromatin in eukaryotic cells. [1] [2] Featuring a main globular domain and a long N-terminal tail, H3 is involved with the structure of the nucleosomes of the 'beads on a string' structure.
Each nucleosome is composed of a little less than two turns of DNA wrapped around a set of eight proteins called histones, which are known as a histone octamer. Each histone octamer is composed of two copies each of the histone proteins H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. DNA must be compacted into nucleosomes to fit within the cell nucleus. [2]
These chemical changes alter the strength of the interaction between the DNA and the histones, making the DNA more or less accessible to transcription factors and changing the rate of transcription. [12] Other non-specific DNA-binding proteins in chromatin include the high-mobility group (HMG) proteins, which bind to bent or distorted DNA. [13]
The proteins combined with DNA are histones and protamines; the resulting nucleoproteins are located in chromosomes. Thus, the entire chromosome, i.e. chromatin in eukaryotes consists of such nucleoproteins. [2] [13]
Eukaryotic histones were first discovered through experiments in 0.4M NaCl. In these high salt concentrations, the eukaryotic histone protein is eluted from a DNA solution in which single stranded DNA is bound covalently to cellulose. Following elution, the protein readily binds DNA, indicating the protein's high affinity for DNA.
The differences between the core canonical histones and their variants can be summarized as follows: (1) canonical histones are replication-dependent and are expressed during the S-phase of cell cycle whereas histone variants are replication-independent and are expressed during the whole cell cycle; (2) in animals, the genes encoding canonical ...