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Histone, Nucleosome, and Chromatin Structure

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Fundamentals of Chromatin

Abstract

In organisms ranging from yeast to humans, DNA is packaged inside the nucleus of cells in a polymeric complex called chromatin. The fundamental unit of chromatin is the nucleosome, consisting of a nucleosome core, a linker histone, and a segment of linker DNA. The nucleosome core is constructed from 145 to 147 base pairs of DNA wrapped around an octamer containing two copies of each of the core histone proteins (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4). While its composition has long since been established, more recent X-ray crystallographic investigations of the nucleosome core have painted a high-resolution picture of the histone octamer and its interactions with DNA. The nucleosome core and linker DNA connecting it to an adjacent nucleosome interact with the linker histone (H1/H5). This unit repeats throughout the genome every 160–240 bp, forming long arrays of nucleosomes that progressively condense into higher-order chromatin structures. This chapter details the structure and dynamics of the nucleosome core particle and discusses our current understanding of nucleosome recognition, the linker histone, and the first level of higher-order chromatin structure, the 30nm fiber.

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Abbreviations

BAH:

Bromo-associated homology

bp:

Base pairs

CENP-A:

Centromere protein A

CTD:

C-terminal domain

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic acid

H1:

Histone H1

H2A:

Histone H2A

H2B:

Histone H2B

H3:

Histone H3

H4:

Histone H4

H5:

Histone H5

HMG:

High mobility group

HMGN2:

High mobility group nucleosomal protein 2

ISW1a:

Imitation SWitch 1a

LANA:

Latency-associated nuclear antigen

PTM(s):

Posttranslational modification(s)

RCC1:

Regulator of chromatin condensation

SHL:

Super-helical location

Sir3:

Silencing information regulator 3

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Tim Richmond for providing the coordinates for his two-start model of the 30 nm fiber. We would also like to thank Phil Robinson and Daniela Rhodes for providing coordinates for their one-start model of the 30 nm fiber. Robert McGinty is a Damon Runyon Fellow supported by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (DRG-2107-12). This work was also supported by Public Health Service grant GM-088236 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

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  1. Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Robert K. McGinty & Song Tan

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  1. Robert K. McGinty
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  2. Song Tan
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Correspondence to Song Tan .

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  1. Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

    Jerry L. Workman

  2. Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

    Susan M. Abmayr

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McGinty, R.K., Tan, S. (2014). Histone, Nucleosome, and Chromatin Structure. In: Workman, J., Abmayr, S. (eds) Fundamentals of Chromatin. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8624-4_1

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