Histone variants in archaea and the evolution of combinatorial chromatin complexity

  • Kathryn M. Stevens
    Molecular Systems Group, Quantitative Biology Section, Medical Research Council London Institute of Medical Sciences, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom;
  • Jacob B. Swadling
    Molecular Systems Group, Quantitative Biology Section, Medical Research Council London Institute of Medical Sciences, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom;
  • Antoine Hocher
    Molecular Systems Group, Quantitative Biology Section, Medical Research Council London Institute of Medical Sciences, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom;
  • Corinna Bang
    Institute for General Microbiology, University of Kiel, 24118 Kiel, Germany;
  • Simonetta Gribaldo
    Department of Microbiology, Unit “Evolutionary Biology of the Microbial Cell,” Institut Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France
  • Ruth A. Schmitz
    Institute for General Microbiology, University of Kiel, 24118 Kiel, Germany;
  • Tobias Warnecke
    Molecular Systems Group, Quantitative Biology Section, Medical Research Council London Institute of Medical Sciences, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom;

抄録

<jats:title>Significance</jats:title> <jats:p>Chromatin in eukaryotes is built around histone–DNA complexes, which act as platforms for the integration of regulatory information. Different layers of information are integrated in a combinatorial fashion, for example by exchanging core histones for variants with different properties. We show that histone variants also exist in archaea. In particular, we identify unique archaeal variants that act as capstones, preventing extension of histone–DNA complexes. Importantly, we show that some archaeal histone variants are ancient and have been maintained as distinct units for hundreds of millions of years. Our work suggests that complex combinatorial chromatin that uses histones as its building blocks exists outside eukaryotes and that the ancestor of eukaryotes might have already had complex chromatin.</jats:p>

収録刊行物

被引用文献 (1)*注記

もっと見る

詳細情報 詳細情報について

問題の指摘

ページトップへ