Vitellogenin-specific Non-histone Chromatin Protein

A non-histone chromatin protein with a molecular weight of about 10,000 daltons was purified from the liver of egg-laying hens. The protein binds tightly to hen genomic DNA fragments carrying at least a part of the vitellogenin structural gene. This vitellogenin-specific non-histone chromatin protein is induced by estrogen before, or in parallel with vitellogenin synthesis in the liver of male chickens, in which vitellogenin is not usually synthesized.