title: Environmental responses mediated by histone variants.
abstract: Fluctuations in the ambient environment can trigger chromatin disruptions, involving replacement of nucleosomes or exchange of their histone subunits. Unlike canonical histones, which are available only during S-phase, replication-independent histone variants are present throughout the cell cycle and are adapted for chromatin repair. The H2A.Z variant mediates responses to environmental perturbations including fluctuations in temperature and seasonal variation. Phosphorylation of histone H2A.X rapidly marks double-strand DNA breaks for chromatin repair, which is mediated by both H2A and H3 histone variants. Other histones are used as weapons in conflicts between parasites and their hosts, which suggests broad involvement of histone variants in environmental responses beyond chromatin repair.
authors.affiliation: Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Talbert
authors.affiliation: Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. Electronic address: steveh@fhcrc.org.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Henikoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis; D002503:Centromere / Q000235:genetics; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D004777:Environment; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D018869:Heat-Shock Response; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D012440:Saccharomyces; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; C468783:H2AX protein, human; D006657:Histones
keywords: DNA damage response; heat shock; histone-fold proteins; host–pathogen conflict