Marked differences in the ability of distinct protamines to disassemble nucleosomal core particles in vitro

In accordance with the results of classical experiments performed in vitro with calf thymus chromatin and the fish protamine salmine, we have observed that this highly basic, small molecular weight protamine cannot cause major displacement of histones from nucleosomal core particles at concentrations several times higher than physiological (arginine/nucleotide ratios 1-8) and that hyperacetylation of histones facilitates nucleosome disassembly. However, the avian protamine galline, with molecular weight and number of arginine residues almost twice those of common fish protamines, is able to displace the nucleosomal core histones from DNA in vitro at concentrations (arginine/nucleotide ratios 0.6-1.2) within the physiological range (0.8). Our results suggest that the binding of the avian protamine galline to chromatin could be directly involved in the rapid disassembly of nucleosomes that takes place during the nucleohistone nucleoprotamine transition in chicken spermiogenesis.