title: Fast, long-range, reversible conformational fluctuations in nucleosomes revealed by single-pair fluorescence resonance energy transfer.
abstract: The nucleosome core particle, the basic repeated structure in chromatin fibers, consists of an octamer of eight core histone molecules, organized as dimers (H2A/H2B) and tetramers [(H3/H4)2] around which DNA wraps tightly in almost two left-handed turns. The nucleosome has to undergo certain conformational changes to allow processes that need access to the DNA template to occur. By single-pair fluorescence resonance energy transfer, we demonstrate fast, long-range, reversible conformational fluctuations in nucleosomes between two states: fully folded (closed), with the DNA wrapped around the histone core, or open, with the DNA significantly unraveled from the histone octamer. The brief excursions into an extended open state may create windows of opportunity for protein factors involved in DNA transactions to bind to or translocate along the DNA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomschik
authors.forename: Haocheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: van Holde
authors.forename: Jordanka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zlatanova
authors.forename: Sanford H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Leuba
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000737:chemistry*; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D009707:Nucleosomes; D004247:DNA
references.citation: Crit Rev Eukaryot Gene Expr. 1999;9(3-4):245-55
references.pmid: 10651241
references.citation: Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2005 Jan;12(1):46-53
references.pmid: 15580276
references.citation: Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr. 2000 Dec;56(Pt 12):1513-34
references.pmid: 11092917
references.citation: Annu Rev Phys Chem. 2001;52:233-53
references.pmid: 11326065
references.citation: Methods. 2001 Sep;25(1):78-86
references.pmid: 11558999
references.citation: Structure. 2001 Dec;9(12):1201-11
references.pmid: 11738046
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Feb 19;99(4):1960-5
references.pmid: 11854495
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 2002 Jun 21;319(5):1097-113
references.pmid: 12079350
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Jan 21;100(2):495-500
references.pmid: 12522259
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Aug 5;100(16):9308-13
references.pmid: 12883002
references.citation: J Am Chem Soc. 2003 Dec 10;125(49):15087-92
references.pmid: 14653743
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 2004 Feb 6;336(1):69-79
references.pmid: 14741204
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 2004 Feb 13;336(2):395-408
references.pmid: 14757053
references.citation: Biochemistry. 2004 Mar 9;43(9):2359-72
references.pmid: 14992573
references.citation: Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2004 Aug;11(8):763-9
references.pmid: 15258568
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Jul;74(7):2780-4
references.pmid: 197520
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 1978 Oct;5(10):3643-63
references.pmid: 724497
references.citation: Biochemistry. 1979 Jun 26;18(13):2871-80
references.pmid: 476061
references.citation: Biochemistry. 1980 Apr 1;19(7):1339-46
references.pmid: 7387992
references.citation: Biochemistry. 1983 Oct 11;22(21):4916-23
references.pmid: 6639936
references.citation: Eur J Biochem. 1984 Aug 1;142(3):431-9
references.pmid: 6468372
references.citation: Methods Cell Biol. 1989;30:245-70
references.pmid: 2648112
references.citation: Methods Enzymol. 1989;170:549-71
references.pmid: 2770550
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 1990 Jul 20;214(2):479-95
references.pmid: 2166168
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 1990 Nov 5;216(1):49-68
references.pmid: 2146398
references.citation: Biochemistry. 1991 May 28;30(21):5293-303
references.pmid: 2036396
references.citation: Biopolymers. 1991 Nov;31(13):1543-57
references.pmid: 1814503
references.citation: Biochemistry. 1993 Oct 12;32(40):10527-31
references.pmid: 8399198
references.citation: Mol Cell Biol. 1995 Mar;15(3):1405-21
references.pmid: 7862134
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 1995 Nov 17;254(1):50-61
references.pmid: 7473758
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 1995 Nov 24;254(2):130-49
references.pmid: 7490738
references.citation: Nature. 1997 Sep 18;389(6648):251-60
references.pmid: 9305837
references.citation: Biochemistry. 1997 Oct 7;36(40):12371-82
references.pmid: 9315878
references.citation: Curr Opin Struct Biol. 1998 Feb;8(1):33-40
references.pmid: 9519294
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 Mar 31;95(7):3396-401
references.pmid: 9520377
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Mar 30;96(7):3670-5
references.pmid: 10097095
references.citation: Bioessays. 1999 Sep;21(9):776-80
references.pmid: 10462418