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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
07:08
Detection of Histone Modifications in Plant Leaves
Published on: September 23, 2011
Summary
Plant nuclear DNA, like that in tobacco and barley, shows similar nucleosome organization to other eukaryotes. Micrococcal endonuclease digestion reveals DNA fragments organized into basic units of approximately 195 base pairs.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Plant Science
- Genetics
Background:
- Nucleosomes are the fundamental units of DNA packaging in eukaryotes.
- Understanding DNA organization in plants is crucial for genetics and molecular biology.
- Previous studies established nucleosome structure in non-plant eukaryotes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the structural organization of nuclear DNA in higher plants (tobacco and barley).
- To determine the size of the DNA fragments associated with nucleosomes in plants.
- To compare plant DNA organization with that of other eukaryotic organisms.
Main Methods:
- Micrococcal endonuclease digestion of isolated plant nuclei.
- Analysis of DNA fragment sizes using gel electrophoresis.
- DNase I digestion and analysis under denaturing conditions.
Main Results:
- 50-55% of tobacco and barley nuclear DNA is accessible to micrococcal endonuclease.
- Mild digestion yields DNA fragments as multiples of ~195 base pairs.
- Extensive digestion results in a predominant ~140 base pair fragment, indicating ~55 base pairs of linker DNA.
Conclusions:
- The general organization of DNA within nucleosomes is conserved between higher plants and other higher eukaryotes.
- Plant nucleosomes consist of a core DNA fragment and linker DNA.
- These findings contribute to understanding genome organization in plants.
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