Effect of polyamines on histone-induced DNA compaction of hyperthermophilic archaea.
The effect of polyamines on histone-mediated DNA compaction was examined in vitro with archaeal histone HpkA from Pyrococcus kodakaraensis KOD1. An agarose gel mobility-shift experiment indicated that histone-bound DNA (compacted DNA) was further compacted by addition of a polyamine (putrescine, spermidine, or spermine) or its acetylated form (N-acetylputrescine, N1-acetylspermidine, N8-acetylspermidine, or N1-acetylspermine) when the mixture was incubated at above 75 degrees C. Spermine was most effective in compaction enhancement among all the polyamines tested. A high concentration of potassium ion (1.0 M) did not stabilize the compacted form of DNA even though double-stranded DNA was stably maintained against thermal denaturation at elevated temperatures under this condition. It appears likely that multivalent polyamines have a nucleosome maintenance function in hyperthermophilic archaea in high-temperature environments.
Higashibata
H
H
Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Fujiwara
S
S
Ezaki
S
S
Takagi
M
M
Fukui
K
K
Imanaka
T
T