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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

In Vitro Biochemical Assays using Biotin Labels to Study Protein-Nucleic Acid Interactions
Published on: July 17, 2019
Biological functions of biotinylated histones
Nagarama Kothapalli1, Gabriela Camporeale, Alice Kueh
1Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0806, USA.
Abstract:
Histones H1, H2A, H2B, H3 and H4 are DNA-binding proteins that mediate the folding of DNA into chromatin. Various posttranslational modifications of histones regulate processes such as transcription, replication and repair of DNA. Recently, a novel posttranslational modification has been identified: covalent binding of the vitamin biotin to lysine residues in histones, mediated by biotinidase and holocarboxylase synthetase. Here we describe a novel peptide-based technique, which was used to identify eight distinct biotinylation sites in histones H2A, H3 and H4. Biotinylation site-specific antibodies were generated to investigate biological functions of histone biotinylation. Evidence was provided that biotinylation of histones plays a role in cell proliferation, gene silencing and cellular response to DNA damage.
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