Stability of the conservative mode of nucleosome assembly.

The conservative assembly of nucleosome histone octamer cores has been confirmed by electrophoretic analysis of density labeled histones following equilibrium buoyant density centrifugation. After normal replication, crosslinked octamers are shown not to contain a mixture of new and old core histones. Moreover, when DNA synthesis is inhibited by ara-C nucleosome cores are still assembled exclusively from nascent histone. Similarly, after release from cycloheximide inhibition newly synthesized core histone is conservatively deposited. Thus, a conservative mechanism of histone octamer assembly occurs when nascent histone is present in the normal stoichiometry to nascent DNA and when chromatin is assembled in nascent histone or nascent DNA excess.     

The translational placement of nucleosome cores in vitro determines the access of the transacting factor suGF1 to DNA.

The sea urchin G-string binding factor (suGF1) is one of several proteins that bind sequence-specifically to oligo(dGxdC) motifs, frequently present upstream of eukaryotic genes. In this study we investigate the interaction of suGF1, purified to near homogeneity, with its oligo(dGxdC) binding site in a reconstituted nucleosome core in vitro. We show that the in vitro reconstitution of a 214 bp fragment containing a suGF1 binding site results in the appearance of five distinct nucleosome core species. These species contain the histone octamer in an identical rotational setting but in different translational frames. The resulting different nucleosomal locations of the suGF1 binding site in the five core species are shown to modulate the ability of suGF1 to bind to nucleosomal DNA, even though the rotational setting of the DNA in the nucleosome cores maximally exposes the suGF1 binding site. We propose that a direct protein-protein steric clash between suGF1 and the histone octamer is the most likely determinant in modulating the binding of suGF1 to its nucleosomally wrapped binding site. This result suggests that in vivo suGF1, like TBP, NF1 and heat shock factor, may require a complementary nucleosome disrupting activity or that suGF1 binds to free nascent replicated DNA prior to nucleosome deposition.     

Role of histone tyrosines in nucleosome formation and histone-histone interaction

We have studied the functional properties of iodinated histones. Isolated, denatured histones were iodinated at trace levels and then renatured together with carrier histones and high molecular weight DNA to form nucleohistone. Nucleosomes were prepared from the reconstitute using micrococcal nuclease, and the relative representations of the individual iodinated tyrosines of the histones in the reconstituted nucleosomes were determined. Our principal findings are 1) that denatured histones can be iodinated at any tyrosine without interfering in subsequent nucleosome reconstitution and 2) that the resulting reconstituted nucleosomes nevertheless possess histone cores of altered stability, being either more or less stable depending on the particular tyrosine which is iodinated. We show that tyrosines 37, 40, and 42 of H2B are protected from iodination in intact core particles, as expected since these tyrosines lie within the H2B-H2A binding site. Yet iodination of these tyrosines in denatured H2B does not interfere with nucleosome assembly. However, the histone cores isolated from these reconstituted nucleosomes are of diminished stability as assayed by Sephadex column chromatography in 2 M salt. In contrast, iodination of tyrosines 83 and 121 of H2B, as well as iodination of the tyrosines of H2A, increases the stability of the histone octamer core. Iodination of H4 tyrosine 72 is without effect on histone octamer stability. Tyrosine iodination constitutes a profound amino acid alteration in the context of the absolute evolutionary conservation of most histone tyrosines. For example, all H2Bs sequenced to date, from fungi to mammals, possess tyrosines at positions 37, 40, and 42. Our results suggest that the immutability of these tyrosines reflects some sophisticated function of the nucleosome histone core beyond the assembly and mere maintenance of a compact structure.     

CENP-A Nucleosome is a Sensitive Allosteric Scaffold for DNA and Chromatin Factors

Centromeric loci of chromosomes are defined by nucleosomes containing the histone H3 variant CENP-A, which bind their DNA termini more permissively than their canonical counterpart, a feature that is critical for the mitotic fidelity. A recent cryo-EM study demonstrated that the DNA termini of CENP-A nucleosomes, reconstituted with the Widom 601 DNA sequence, are asymmetrically flexible, meaning one terminus is more clearly resolved than the other. However, an earlier work claimed that both ends could be resolved in the presence of two stabilizing single chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies per nucleosome, and thus are likely permanently bound to the histone octamer. This suggests that the binding of scFv antibodies to the histone octamer surface would be associated with CENP-A nucleosome conformational changes, including stable binding of the DNA termini. Here, we present computational evidence that allows to explain at atomistic level the structural rearrangements of CENP-A nucleosomes resulting from the antibody binding. The antibodies, while they only bind the octamer façades, are capable of altering the dynamics of the nucleosomal core, and indirectly also the surrounding DNA. This effect has more drastic implications for the structure and the dynamics of the CENP-A nucleosome in comparison to its canonical counterpart. Furthermore, we find evidence that the antibodies bind the left and the right octamer façades at different affinities, another manifestation of the DNA sequence. We speculate that the cells could use induction of similar allosteric effects to control centromere function.     

DNA recognition and nucleosome organization

The affinity of a DNA sequence for the histone octamer in a core nucleosome depends on the intrinsic flexibility of the DNA. This parameter can be affected both by the sequence-dependent conformational preferences of individual base steps and by the nature and location of the exocyclic groups of the DNA bases. By adopting highly preferred conformations particular types of base step can influence the rotational positioning of the DNA on the surface of the histone octamer. The asymmetry of the next higher order of chromatin structure is determined in part by the asymmetric binding of the globular domain of histone H5 to the core nucleosome. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biopoly 44: 423–433 1997     

Uracil DNA Glycosylase Activity on Nucleosomal DNA Depends on Rotational Orientation of Targets

The activity of uracil DNA glycosylases (UDGs), which recognize and excise uracil bases from DNA, has been well characterized on naked DNA substrates but less is known about activity in chromatin. We therefore prepared a set of model nucleosome substrates in which single thymidine residues were replaced with uracil at specific locations and a second set of nucleosomes in which uracils were randomly substituted for all thymidines. We found that UDG efficiently removes uracil from internal locations in the nucleosome where the DNA backbone is oriented away from the surface of the histone octamer, without significant disruption of histone-DNA interactions. However, uracils at sites oriented toward the histone octamer surface were excised at much slower rates, consistent with a mechanism requiring spontaneous DNA unwrapping from the nucleosome. In contrast to the nucleosome core, UDG activity on DNA outside the core DNA region was similar to that of naked DNA. Association of linker histone reduced activity of UDG at selected sites near where the globular domain of H1 is proposed to bind to the nucleosome as well as within the extra-core DNA. Our results indicate that some sites within the nucleosome core and the extra-core (linker) DNA regions represent hot spots for repair that could influence critical biological processes.     

Stability of the primary organization of nucleosome core particles upon some conformational transitions.

The sequential arrangement of histones along DNA in nucleosome core particles was determined between 0.5 and 600 mM salt and from 0 to 8 M urea. These concentrations of salt and urea up to 6 M had no significant effect on the linear order of histones along DNA but 8 M urea caused the rearrangement of histones. Conformational changes in cores have been identified within these ranges of conditions by several laboratories 8-21. Also, abrupt structural changes in the cores, apparently their unfolding, were found by gel electrophoresis to occur at urea concentration, between 4 and 5 M. 600 mM salt and 6 M urea were shown to relax the binding of histones to DNA in cores but do not however release histones or some part of their molecules from DNA. It appears therefore that nucleosomal cores can undergo some conformational transitions and unfolding whereas their primary organization remains essentially unaffected. These results are consistent with a model of the core particles in which the histone octamer forms something like a helical "rim" along the superhelical DNA and histone-histone interactions beyond the "rim" are rather weak in comparison with those within the "rim".     

Unwinding of chromatin by the SV40 large T antigen DNA helicase.

We have analysed the unwinding of nucleosomally organized DNA by simian virus 40 large tumour (T) antigen. Isolated T antigen can bind to existing nucleosome cores containing the viral replication origin sequence, which results in displacement of the histone octamer and unwinding of the DNA. However, specific binding to nucleosome cores is salt sensitive and nearly completely blocked under ionic conditions that otherwise support DNA replication. Once started, the progressing T antigen helicase, like an elongating RNA polymerase, is not further repressed by histone octamers, irrespective of the presence or absence of linker histone H1. Disruption of the nucleosomal structure in the process of unwinding may be assisted by the demonstrated interaction of the hexameric T antigen complex with histone proteins H1 and H3. Finally, our studies reveal the inability of topoisomerase I and/or II to continually relieve the superhelical tension of covalently closed circular minichromosomes as generated during their unwinding by T antigen. This may indicate that chromatin relaxation during the process of DNA replication can only be efficiently performed by a topoisomerase that is (trans)activated by other factors.     

Sequence-specific positioning of core histones on an 860 base-pair DNA. Experiment and theory

Previous experiments have shown that the locations of the histone octamer on DNA molecules of 140 to 240 base-pairs (bp) are influenced strongly by the nucleotide sequence. Here we have studied the locations of the histone octamer on a relatively long DNA molecule of 860 bp, using two different nucleases, micrococcal and DNAase I. Data were obtained from both the protein--DNA complexes and from the naked DNA at single-bond resolution, and then were analyzed by densitometry to yield plots of differential cleavage, which show clearly the changes in cutting due to the addition of protein. Our results show that the placement of core histones on the 860 bp molecule is definitely non-random. The digestion data provide evidence for five nucleosome cores, the centers of which lie in defined locations. In all but one of these protein--DNA complexes, the DNA adopts a unique, highly preferred rotational setting with respect to the protein surface. Another protein--DNA complex is unusual in that it protects 200 bp from digestion, yet is cut in its very center as if it were split into two parts. The apparent average twist of the DNA within all of these protein--DNA complexes is 10.2(+/- 0.1) bp, as measured by the periodicity of DNAase I digestion. This value is in excellent agreement with the twist of 10.21(+/- 0.05) bp deduced from the periodicity of sequence content in chicken nucleosome core DNA. In addition, we observe a discontinuity in the periodic cutting by DNAase I of about -1 to -3 bonds in going from any nucleosome core to the next. The most plausible interpretation of this discontinuity is that it reflects the angle by which adjacent protein--DNA complexes are aligned. Thus, any nucleosome may be related to its neighbor by a left-handed rotation in space of -1/10.2 to -3/10.2 helix turns, or -35 degrees to -105 degrees. Repeated many times, this operation would build a long, left-handed helix of nucleosomes similar to that described by many workers for the packing of nucleosomes in chromatin. In order to look for any long-range influences on the positioning of the histone octamer in the 860 bp molecule (as would be expected if the nucleosomes have to fit into some higher-order structure), we have examined the locations of the histone octamer on five different isolated short fragments of the 860-mer, all of nucleosomal length.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Conformation of the HMG17-nucleosome complex

The nucleosome core binds more than two molecules of HMG17 at low ionic strength (8.9 mM Tris-HCl/8.9 mM boric acid/0.25 mM Na2EDTA, pH 8.3). Circular dichroism of the complexes showed only minor conformational changes of the nucleosome core DNA on binding of HMG17, with no detectable change in the histone secondary structure. The fluorescence of N-(3-pyrene) maleimide bound to -SH groups at Cys-110 of H3 histones in the core particle suggested that the structure of the histone octamer assembly changed little upon binding of HMG17 to the nucleosome. These observations support the idea that even a high level of HMG17 binding, e.g., four HMGs per nucleosome, alone, does not open up the core particle.     

Role of the histone amino termini in facilitated binding of a transcription factor, GAL4-AH, to nucleosome cores.

Facilitated, "cooperative" binding of GAL4-AH to nucleosomal DNA occurred in response to inhibition from the core histone amino termini. The binding of GAL4-AH (which contains the DNA-binding and dimerization domains of GAL4) to nucleosome cores containing multiple binding sites initiated at the end of a nucleosome core and proceeded in a cooperative manner until all sites were occupied. However, following tryptic removal of the core histone amino termini, GAL4-AH binding appeared to be noncooperative, similar to binding naked DNA. Binding of GAL4-AH to nucleosomes bearing a single GAL4 site at different positions indicated that inhibition of GAL4 binding was largely mediated by the histone amino termini and primarily occurred at sites well within the core and not near the end. When the histone amino termini were intact, binding of GAL4-AH to sites near the center of a nucleosome core was greatly enhanced by the presence of additional GAL4 dimers bound to more-accessible positions. These data illustrate that the binding of a factor to more-accessible sites, near the end of a nucleosome, allows facilitated binding of additional factors to the center of the nucleosome, thereby overcoming repression from the core histone amino termini. This mechanism may contribute to the binding of multiple factors to complex promoter and enhancer elements in cellular chromatin.     

Chromatin assembled in the presence of cytosine arabinoside has a short nucleosome repeat.

Incubation of MSB cells with cytosine arabinoside (1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine, ara-C) inhibits 3H-thymidine incorporation into nascent DNA while nucleosome core histone synthesis proceeds in molar stoichiometry at about 20% of control rates. The excess nascent histone is incorporated into chromatin and nucleosome cores are assembled normally on the small amount of DNA which is synthesized at submaximal levels of ara-C. This DNA becomes packaged into a shortened nucleosome repeat, however. These results indicate that the nucleosome core is a strongly conserved unit of chromatin replication and suggest that the stoichiometry of nascent histone to DNA may be one factor influencing the establishment of the nucleosome repeat length. It cannot be the only factor, however, since the closely packed nucleosomes made in the presence of ara-C begin to return to their normal spacing within six hours after reversal.     

X-ray diffraction study of a new crystal form of the nucleosome core showing higher resolution

Crystals have been grown of intact (unproteolysed) nucleosome cores from a variety of sources. The unit cells are all very similar, with one core particle per asymmetric unit. The X-ray diffraction patterns extend to about 5 Å in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the flat particle, and to somewhat less than this in other directions. The arrangement of particles in the unit cell has been deduced from Patterson projection maps, which also indicate the presence of a particle dyad. The data are consistent with the earlier proposed model for the core particle in which the 146 base-pairs of DNA are wound in about $\text{1}\text{3}\text{4}$ turns of superhelix about a histone octamer core.High angle diffuse X-ray scattering from the crystals shows that the DNA of the core particle is in the B form. The anisotropy of the diffuse scattering shows that the DNA is not firmly fixed to the histone core all along the superhelix path, but only over limited regions whose location correlates well with those in which the DNA is differentially protected against nuclease digestion.