Article abstract
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 16, 151 - 158 (2009)
Published online: 1 February 2009 | doi:10.1038/nsmb.1551
Nucleosomes can invade DNA territories occupied by their neighbors
Maik Engeholm1, Martijn de Jager2, Andrew Flaus1,4, Ruth Brenk3, John van Noort2 & Tom Owen-Hughes1
Abstract
Nucleosomes are the fundamental subunits of eukaryotic chromatin. They are not static entities, but can undergo a number of dynamic transitions, including spontaneous repositioning along DNA. As nucleosomes are spaced close together within genomes, it is likely that on occasion they approach each other and may even collide. Here we have used a dinucleosomal model system to show that the 147-base-pair (bp) DNA territories of two nucleosomes can overlap extensively. In the situation of an overlap by 44 bp or 54 bp, one histone dimer is lost and the resulting complex can condense to form a compact single particle. We propose a pathway in which adjacent nucleosomes promote DNA unraveling as they approach each other and that this permits their 147-bp territories to overlap, and we suggest that these events may represent early steps in a pathway for nucleosome removal via collision.
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK.
- Physics of Life Processes, Leiden Institute of Physics, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK.
- Present address: Department of Biochemistry, NUI Galway, Ireland.
Correspondence to: Tom Owen-Hughes1 e-mail: t.a.owenhughes@dundee.ac.uk
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