Histone variants articles from across Nature Portfolio

Alterations to archaeal histone-histone and histone-DNA contacts elicit dramatic impacts on transcription elongation processivity and the rate of RNA synthesis, suggesting the importance of distinct chromatin structures in regulated gene expression.

Eviction of histones from nucleosomes and their exchange with newly synthesized or alternative variants is a central epigenetic determinant. Here the authors implement a molecular sensor that reports on steady-state exchange of histones in mESC and mice revealing dependency between deposition of histone variant H3.3 and exchange of H3.1 and H2B in both open and closed chromatin.

How the histone variant H2A.Z controls cell fate remains unclear. Here, the authors reveal that the H2A.Z interacting partner HMG20A plays a key role in regulating transcription during early head and heart development.

Producing vigorous seeds that can germinate and establish seedlings is vital for plant propagation. Here, the authors report the critical function of histone variant H3.3 in establishing chromatin accessibility and seed vigour in Arabidopsis.

H2B.8 is identified as a histone variant that mediates a newly described mechanism of transcription-compatible chromatin condensation in flowering plant sperm cells.

The interaction of non-immune and immune cells in the tumour microenvironment (TME) determines the quality of the immune attack on nascent tumour cells. A new study in melanoma cells shows that specific histone variants dampen the expression of cytokine genes in cancer-associated fibroblasts, leading to an immunosuppressive TME.

Chew et al. report in Nature Communications that short histone H2A variants are upregulated in a wide range of cancers, indicating that they become oncohistones when aberrantly expressed.

Two studies in Nature report regulatory roles for H1 in chromatin compaction and 3D genome organization and establish H1 mutations as a driver of tumorigenesis.

Centromere identity must be maintained through multiple generations. A new study reveals a Constitutive Centromere-Associated Network (CCAN)-dependent retention of CENP-A, a key epigenetic mark for centromeres, in centromeres during DNA replication and a replication-dependent error correction to eliminate ectopic CENP-A in chromosome arms.

Cellular engineering that allows budding yeast to survive with the four core human histones opens the door to exploring the function of histone variants and their modifications.

DNA replication regulates nucleosome dynamics at the promoter of a negative element of the circadian clock, thereby providing regulatory feedback into circadian rhythms.