Nucleosome structural changes due to acetylation.
We have measured the helical repeat of acetylated nucleosomes reconstituted with HeLa cell histone octamers and the 5 S RNA gene positioning sequence from Xenopus borealis. The hydroxyl radical footprinting experiments show that the helical repeat of nucleosome-bound DNA is unchanged upon acetylation, and that the extent of DNA-protein contacts remains unaltered. These results, combined with previous determinations of the linking number change in minichromosomes as a function of the extent of acetylation, are analyzed with surface linking theory. We demonstrate that the shape of the nucleosome changes upon acetylation, in such a way as to decrease the number of times the DNA winds around the nucleosome central axis.
Bauer
W R
WR
Department of Microbiology, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794-5222.
Hayes
J J
JJ
White
J H
JH
Wolffe
A P
AP
D000107:Acetylation; D000818:Animals; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006657:Histones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; D008433:Mathematics; D008961:Models, Structural; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D012341:RNA, Ribosomal, 5S / Q000235:genetics*; D014981:Xenopus
D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D006657:Histones; D009707:Nucleosomes; D012341:RNA, Ribosomal, 5S; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical