High-resolution structure of the native histone octamer

Journal Article · Wed Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 2005 · Acta Crystallographica. Section F

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1107/S1744309105013813· OSTI ID:22356028

Nicholson, James M. ^[1]; Lambert, Stanley J. ^[2]; Chantalat, Laurent ^[3]; Reynolds, Colin D. ^[2]; Baldwin, John P. ^[1]

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1. College of Biology and Medicine, CCLRC Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 4AD (United Kingdom)
2. School of Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF (United Kingdom)
3. Structural Biology, Galderma R&D, 635 Routes des Lucioles, BP 87F-06902 Sophia Antipolis CEDEX (France)

The high-resolution (1.90 Å) model of the native histone octamer allows structural comparisons to be made with the nucleosome-core particle, along with an identification of a likely core-histone binding site. Crystals of native histone octamers (H2A–H2B)–(H4–H3)–(H3′–H4′)–(H2B′–H2A′) from chick erythrocytes in 2 M KCl, 1.35 M potassium phosphate pH 6.9 diffract X-rays to 1.90 Å resolution, yielding a structure with an R{sub work} value of 18.7% and an R{sub free} of 22.2%. The crystal space group is P6{sub 5}, the asymmetric unit of which contains one complete octamer. This high-resolution model of the histone-core octamer allows further insight into intermolecular interactions, including water molecules, that dock the histone dimers to the tetramer in the nucleosome-core particle and have relevance to nucleosome remodelling. The three key areas analysed are the H2A′–H3–H4 molecular cluster (also H2A–H3′–H4′), the H4–H2B′ interaction (also H4′–H2B) and the H2A′–H4 β-sheet interaction (also H2A–H4′). The latter of these three regions is important to nucleosome remodelling by RNA polymerase II, as it is shown to be a likely core-histone binding site, and its disruption creates an instability in the nucleosome-core particle. A majority of the water molecules in the high-resolution octamer have positions that correlate to similar positions in the high-resolution nucleosome-core particle structure, suggesting that the high-resolution octamer model can be used for comparative studies with the high-resolution nucleosome-core particle.

• OSTI ID: 22356028
• Journal Information: Acta Crystallographica. Section F, Journal Name: Acta Crystallographica. Section F Journal Issue: Pt 6 Vol. 61; ISSN ACSFCL; ISSN 1744-3091
• Country of Publication: United Kingdom
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
CRYSTALS
DIMERS
INSTABILITY
INTERACTIONS
MOLECULAR CLUSTERS
MOLECULES
POTASSIUM PHOSPHATES
RESOLUTION
SHEETS
SPACE GROUPS
WATER