An octamer of histones H3 and H4 forms a compact complex with DNA of nucleosome size.
Equimolar mixtures of histones H3 and H4 have been reconstituted onto DNA of nucleosome core size. Two distinct complexes are formed in a relative abundance that depends on the starting ratio of H3 + H4 to DNA. One of these complexes contains two H3-H4 dimers for each DNA molecule, and has a sedimentation coefficient of 7.5S. The other complex contains an octamer consisting of four H3-H4 dimers, and has a sedimentation coefficient of 10.4S. On the basis of these measurements, we conclude that the octamer complex (but not the tetramer complex) is a fully folded, compact structure resembling the nucleosome.
D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002843:Chromatin / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood; D004912:Erythrocytes; D006657:Histones / Q000097:blood; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011487:Protein Conformation
D002843:Chromatin; D006657:Histones; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D004247:DNA