Core component of nucleosome. Nucleosomes wrap and compact DNA into chromatin, limiting DNA accessibility to the cellular machineries which require DNA as a tplate. Histones thereby play a central role in transcription regulation, DNA repair, DNA replication and chromosomal stability. DNA accessibility is regulated via a complex set of post-translational modifications of histones, also called histone code, and nucleosome rodeling.
The human and mouse replication-dependent histone genes.Marzluff W.F., Gongidi P., Woods K.R., Jin J., Maltais L.J.Genomics 80:487-498(2002)
Research Topic:Epigenetics and Nuclear Signaling