The role of histone tails in nucleosome stability: An electrostatic perspective.

ABSTRACT: We propose a methodology for the study of protein-DNA electrostatic interactions and apply it to clarify the effect of histone tails in nucleosomes. This method can be used to correlate electrostatic interactions to structural and functional features of protein-DNA systems, and can be combined with coarse-grained representations. In particular, we focus on the electrostatic field and resulting forces acting on the DNA. We investigate the electrostatic origins of effects such as different stages in DNA unwrapping, nucleosome destabilization upon histone tail truncation, and the role of specific arginines and lysines undergoing Post-Translational Modifications. We find that the positioning of the histone tails can oppose the attractive pull of the histone core, locally deform the DNA, and tu

SUBMITTER: Bendandi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7575852 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature