Nucleosome Structures Built from Highly Divergent Histones: Parasites and Giant DNA Viruses.

ABSTRACT: In eukaryotes, genomic DNA is bound with histone proteins and packaged into chromatin. The nucleosome, a fundamental unit of chromatin, regulates the accessibility of DNA to enzymes involved in gene regulation. During the past few years, structural analyses of chromatin architectures have been limited to evolutionarily related organisms. The amino acid sequences of histone proteins are highly conserved from humans to yeasts, but are divergent in the deeply branching protozoan groups, including human parasites that are directly related to human health. Certain large DNA viruses, as well as archaeal organisms, contain distant homologs of eukaryotic histone proteins. The divergent sequences give rise to unique and distinct nucleosome architectures, although the fundamental principles of histo

SUBMITTER: Sato S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9396995 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature