title: Histone variants on the move: substrates for chromatin dynamics.
abstract: Most histones are assembled into nucleosomes behind the replication fork to package newly synthesized DNA. By contrast, histone variants, which are encoded by separate genes, are typically incorporated throughout the cell cycle. Histone variants can profoundly change chromatin properties, which in turn affect DNA replication and repair, transcription, and chromosome packaging and segregation. Recent advances in the study of histone replacement have elucidated the dynamic processes by which particular histone variants become substrates of histone chaperones, ATP-dependent chromatin remodellers and histone-modifying enzymes. Here, we review histone variant dynamics and the effects of replacing DNA synthesis-coupled histones with their replication-independent variants on the chromatin landscape.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue North, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA.
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Talbert
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue North, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Henikoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004261:DNA Replication; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015003:Yeasts / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D006570:Heterochromatin; D006657:Histones; D009707:Nucleosomes; C475961:gamma-H2AX protein, mouse