DAXX envelops a histone H3.3-H4 dimer for H3.3-specific recognition.

ABSTRACT: Histone chaperones represent a structurally and functionally diverse family of histone-binding proteins that prevent promiscuous interactions of histones before their assembly into chromatin. DAXX is a metazoan histone chaperone specific to the evolutionarily conserved histone variant H3.3. Here we report the crystal structures of the DAXX histone-binding domain with a histone H3.3-H4 dimer, including mutants within DAXX and H3.3, together with in vitro and in vivo functional studies that elucidate the principles underlying H3.3 recognition specificity. Occupying 40% of the histone surface-accessible area, DAXX wraps around the H3.3-H4 dimer, with complex formation accompanied by structural transitions in the H3.3-H4 histone fold. DAXX uses an extended α-helical conformation to compete wit

SUBMITTER: Elsasser SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4056191 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature