Open AccessHistone‐Hydrocarbon Interaction. Partition of Histones in Aqueous Two‐Phase Systems Containing Poly(ethylene glycol)‐Bound Hydrocarbons
Author(s) -
AXELSSON ClaesGöran,
SHANBHAG Vithaldas P.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
european journal of biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1432-1033
pISSN - 0014-2956
DOI - 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1976.tb11129.x
Subject(s) - ethylene glycol , chemistry , histone , hydrocarbon , aqueous solution , fatty acid , ethylene , partition coefficient , polymer chemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , biochemistry , gene , catalysis
The hydrophobic properties of histones have been examined with help of the two‐phase partition technique using dextran‐poly(ethylene glycol)‐water systems. We have found that different fatty acid esters of poly(ethylene glycol) interact with total histones in a manner similar to proteins of the type β‐lactoglobulin and serum albumins. Thus the maximum interaction occurs when the fatty acid contains 16–18 carbon atoms. With less than eight carbon atoms in the polymer‐bound fatty acid, no histone‐hydrocarbon interaction is observed. The interaction of the five individual histone fractions with palmitate depends on the type of salt used and on its concentration. We suggest that the histones can be divided into three groups with decreasing hydrophobic properties: H3, H2a > H4, H2b > H1.