Ch 8 Lecture (Chromatin) Flashcards
nucleosome
The basic structural subunit of chromatin, consisting of 200 bp of DNA and an octamer of histone proteins
Serves as the first level of chromatin organization
Packed 6X
histones
DNA binding proteins that are part of nucleosome structure
Histone tails
Flexible N- or C-terminal regions of the core histones that extend beyond the surface of the nucleosome
Are often extensively post-translationally modified
10 nm fiber
A fiber generated from the linear array of nucleosomes
30nm fiber
A coil of nucleosomes
40X packing
Basic level of organization in chromatin
Requires interactions of histone tails and linker histones
linker histones
A family of histones that are not components of the nucleosome core that bind nucleosomes and/or linker DNA
Histone H1
micrococcal nuclease
cleaves linker DNA and releases individual nucleosomes from chromatin
there is one nucleosome every
200 base pairs
what proteins are the octomer of core histone proteins
A pair of H2A, H2B, H3, and H4
Stable H32-H42 tetramer associates with two stable H2A-H2B dimers
histone proteins are
small, basic, and lysine and arginine rich
what histone proteins are highly conserved
H3 and H4
what histone proteins are not highly conserved
H2A and H2B
DNA is coiled around the histone how many times
1.6
Interdigitation of histone proteins is facilitated via the interaction of
histone folds
histone folds
Conserved structure of 3 -helices
Two short helices on end and one long helix in middle separated by loops
what facilitates heterodimer formation
loop to loop interactions
What binds to the middle 60bp and the entry/exit points of the DNA
H3-H4 tetramer
what stabilizes the DNA on the bottom of the nucleosome
H2A-H2B dimers
Association between DNA and the nucleosome is facilitated by
142 hydrogen bonds
intrinsic positioning
AT-rich regions position with minor groove towards octamer
GC-rich regions position with minor groove facing away from octamer
what on the histones help “lock” the DNA on the nucleosome
The N-terminal tails
Histone tails are distributed … around the nucleosome disc
evenly