Histone variants: key players of chromatin
Burcu Biterge1, Robert Schneider
1Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS UMR 7104, INSERM U 964, Université de Strasbourg, 67404, Illkirch, France.
Abstract:
Histones are fundamental structural components of chromatin. Eukaryotic DNA is wound around an octamer of the core histones H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. Binding of linker histone H1 promotes higher order chromatin organization. In addition to their structural role, histones impact chromatin function and dynamics by, e.g., post-translational histone modifications or the presence of specific histone variants. Histone variants exhibit differential expression timings (DNA replication-independent) and mRNA characteristics compared to canonical histones. Replacement of canonical histones with histone variants can affect nucleosome stability and help to create functionally distinct chromatin domains. In line with this, several histone variants have been implicated in the regulation of cellular processes such as DNA repair and transcriptional activity. In this review, we focus on recent progress in the study of core histone variants H2A.X, H2A.Z, macroH2A, H3.3, and CENP-A, as well as linker histone H1 variants, their functions and their links to development and disease.
Related Concept Videos
Histone Modification
Acetylation
The enzyme histone acetyltransferase adds acetyl group to the histones. Another enzyme, histone...
Histone Modification
Histone Variants at the Centromere
The Nucleosome Core Particle
Nucleosomes, paradoxically, perform two opposite functions simultaneously. On the one hand, their primary aim is to protect the delicate DNA strands from physical damage and help achieve a higher compaction ratio. On the other hand, they must allow polymerase enzymes to access histone-bound DNA during...
The Nucleosome Core Particle
The paradox
Nucleosomes, paradoxically, perform two opposite functions simultaneously. On the one hand, their main responsibility is to protect the delicate DNA strands from physical damage and help achieve a higher compaction ratio. While on the other hand, they must allow polymerase enzymes to access DNA...
Spreading of Chromatin Modifications
Writers
The writer...


