Histone

Classes

Six major histone classes are known:

• H1 (sometimes called the linker histone; also related to Histone H5.)
• H2A
• H2B
• H3
• H4
• Archaeal histones

Two each of the class H2A, H2B, H3 and H4, so-called core histones, assemble to form one octameric nucleosome core particle by wrapping 146 base pairs of DNA around the protein spool in 1.65 left-handed super-helical turn^[1]. The linker histone H1 binds the nucleosome and the entry and exit sites of the DNA, thus locking the DNA into place^{[citation needed]} and allowing the formation of higher order structure. The most basic such formation is the 10 nm fiber or beads on a string conformation. This involves the wrapping of DNA around nucleosomes with approximately 50 base pairs of DNA is called chromatin. Higher order structures include the 30 nm fiber (forming an irregular zigzag) and 100 nm fiber, these being the structures found in normal cells. During mitosis and meiosis, the condensed chromosomes are assembled through interactions between nucleosomes and other regulatory proteins.

Structure

The nucleosome core is formed of two H2A-H2B dimers and a H3-H4 tetramer, forming two nearly symmetrical halves by amino acid structure - this being the location of post-transcriptional modification (see below).

In all, histones make five types of interactions with DNA:

1. Helix-dipoles from phosphate groups on DNA.
2. Hydrogen bonds between the DNA backbone and the amine group on the main chain of histone proteins.
3. Nonpolar interactions between the histone and deoxyribose sugars on DNA.
4. Salt links and hydrogen bonds between side chains of basic amino acids (especially arginine) and phosphate oxygens on DNA.
5. Non-specific minor groove insertions of the H3 and H2B N-terminal tails into two minor grooves each on the DNA molecule.

The highly basic nature of histones, aside from facilitating DNA-histone interactions, contributes to the water solubility of histones.^{[citation needed]}

Histones are subject to posttranslational modification by enzymes primarily on their N-terminal tails, but also in their globular domains^{[citation needed]}. Such modifications include ubiquitination, and ADP-ribosylation. This affects their function of gene regulation (see functions).

In general, genes that are active have less bound histone, while inactive genes are highly associated with histones during interphase^{[citation needed]}. It also appears that the structure of histones have been evolutionarily conserved, as any deleterious mutations would be severely maladaptive.

Functions

Compacting DNA Strands

Histones act as spools around which DNA winds. This enables the compaction necessary to fit the large genomes of eukaryotes inside cell nuclei: the compacted molecule is 50,000 times shorter than an unpacked molecule.^{[citation needed]}

Histone modifications in chromatin regulation

Histones undergo DNA repair and chromosome condensation (mitosis).^{[citation needed]}

The common nomenclature of histone modifications is as follows:

1. The name of the histone (e.g H3)
2. The single letter Lysine) and the amino acid position in the protein
3. The type of modification (Me: methyl, P: ubiquitin)

So H3K4Me denotes the methylation of H3 on the 4th lysine from the start (N-terminal) of the protein.

For a detailed example of histone modifications in RNA polymerase control by chromatin structure.

History

Histones were discovered in 1884 by Albrecht Kossel. The word "histone" dates from the late 19th century and is from the German "Histon", of uncertain origin: perhaps from Greek histanai or from histos. Until the early 1990s, histones were dismissed as merely packing material for nuclear DNA. During the early 1990s, the regulatory functions of histones were discovered^{[citation needed]}.

Conservation across species

Histones are found in the nuclei of eukaryotic cells, and in certain Archaea, namely Euryarchaea, but not in bacteria. Archaeal histones may well resemble the evolutionary precursors to eukaryotic histones. Histone proteins are among the most highly conserved proteins in eukaryotes, emphasizing their important role in the biology of the nucleus.^{[citation needed]}

Core histones are highly conserved proteins, that is, there are very few differences among the amino acid sequences of the histone proteins of different species. Linker histone usually has more than one form within a species and is also less conserved than the core histones.^{[citation needed]}

There are some variant forms in some of the major classes. They share amino acid sequence homology and core structural similarity to a specific class of major histones but also have their own feature that is distinct from the major histones. These minor histones usually carry out specific functions of the chromatin metabolism. For example, histone H3-like CenpA is a histone only associated with centromere region of the chromosome. Histone H2A variant H2A.Z is associated with the promoters of actively transcribed genes and also involved in the formation of the heterochromatin. Another H2A variant H2A.X binds to the DNA with double strand breaks and marks the region undergoing DNA repair. Histone H3.3 is associated with the body of actively transcribed genes.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Nucleosome
• Chromatin
• Histone-Modifying Enzymes
• Histone deacetylase
• PRMT4 pathway
• Gene silencing
• Genetics
• Histone methyltransferase
• Histone acetyltransferase

References

v • d • e Genetics: chromosomes
Karyotype - Ploidy - Meiosis Classification: Autosome - Sex chromosome Evolution: Chromosomal inversion - Chromosomal translocation - Polyploidy - Paleopolyploidy Structure: Chromatin (Euchromatin, Heterochromatin) - Nucleosome - Histone (H1, H2A, H2B, H3, H4) - Centromere - Telomere - Chromatid