Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Sequential Salt Extractions for the Analysis of Bulk Chromatin Binding Properties of Chromatin Modifying Complexes
Published on: October 2, 2017
[Chromatin compactification using a model system of DNA-protein complexes]
E V Chikhirzhina1, E I Kostyleva, E I Ramm
1Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg.
Abstract:
Conformational peculiarities of DNA complexes with histones of the H1 family have been studied by the method of circular dichroism (CD). The H1 histones were isolated from spermatozoa of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius, starfish Aphelasterias japonica, and bivalve mollusc Chlamis islandicus and also from the rat thymus. It is shown that these sperm-specific histones do not compact DNA in low ionic strength solution. At physiologic conditions H1 from the sea urchin and starfish sperms compact DNA more intensively than other histones. The H1 from rat thymus has a minimum ability to compact DNA. This histone does not change the structure of DNA double helix. It was supposed that it could be associated with interactions of this histone with DNA in the major groove of its helix. At the same time sperm-specific H1 can interact with DNA not only in the major groove but also in the minor groove, and this induces changes in DNA structure. This DNA-protein interaction is specific for the sperm chromatin and may support the supercompact organization of the sperm chromatin.
Related Concept Videos
The Nucleosome
DNA is wound twice around a protein complex called histone core, that consist of 8 histone proteins. This complex...
Chromatin Packaging
The chromatin
In combination with specialized DNA binding protein called Histones, the DNA double helix forms a compact DNA: protein complex called chromatin. The chromatin itself is further compacted into higher-order structures.
The Nucleosome
DNA is wound twice around a protein complex called histone core, that consist of 8 histone proteins. This complex...
Chromatin Packaging
The chromatin
In combination with specialized DNA binding protein called Histones, the DNA double helix forms a compact DNA: protein complex called chromatin. The chromatin itself is further compacted into higher-order structures.
The Nucleosome
In a chromosome, DNA is wound twice around a protein complex called a histone octamer core, which consists of 8 histone proteins. This...
Chromatin Packaging

