Premium
A 145‐base pair DNA sequence that positions itself precisely and asymmetrically on the nucleosome core.
Author(s) -
Ramsay N.,
Felsenfeld G.,
Rushton B.M.,
McGhee J.D.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb02181.x
Subject(s) - biology , nucleosome , base pair , dna , genetics , base sequence , sequence (biology) , core (optical fiber) , computational biology , base (topology) , evolutionary biology , histone , physics , mathematical analysis , mathematics , optics
A 145‐bp DNA sequence, cloned from Escherichia coli, was reconstituted into nucleosome core particles by a number of methods. The behaviour of the resulting complex upon sucrose gradient sedimentation and nucleoprotein gel electrophoresis closely resembled that of control bulk nucleosome core particles. DNase I digestion of the 32P‐end‐labelled complex revealed the 10‐bp periodicity of cleavages expected for DNA bound on a histone surface. The narrow cleavage sites observed (1 bp wide) imply that the sequence occupies a single preferred position on the nucleosome core, accurate to the level of single base pairs. By relating the digestion pattern observed to the pattern of site protection found for random sequence nucleosomes, the DNA position was found to be offset by 17 bp from that in the normal core particle. A number of experiments argue against the involvement of length or end effects and suggest that it is some feature of the DNA sequence itself that determines this precise positioning of DNA on the nucleosome.