The histone gene cluster on mouse chromosome 3 has been isolated as a series of overlapping P1 clones, covering 110-120 kb, by probing with the histone H3-614 gene that had been mapped previously to mouse chromosome 3. There are genes for 10 core histone proteins present in a 55-kb cluster within this contig. There are three histone H3 genes, two of which are identical; four histone H2a genes, ...

Posttranslational modifications of histone tails regulate numerous biological processes including transcription, DNA repair, and apoptosis. Although recent studies suggest that structural alterations in chromatin are critical for triggering the DNA damage response, very little is known about the nature of DNA damage-induced chromatin perturbations. Here we show that the serine 14 residue in the...

Post-translational histone modifications play important roles in regulating gene expression programs, which in turn determine cell fate and lineage commitment during development. One such modification is histone ubiquitination, which primarily targets histone H2A and H2B. Although ubiquitination of H2A and H2B has been generally linked to gene silencing and gene activation, respectively, the fu...

BACKGROUND Hypoacetylation on histone H3 of human prostate cancer cells has been described. Little is known about the modifications of other histones from prostate cancer cells. METHODS Histones were isolated from the prostate cancer cell line DU-145 and the non-malignant prostatic cell line RC170N/h. Post-translational modifications of histone H2B were determined by liquid chromatography-mas...

DNA in eukaryotic cells is associated with histone proteins; hence, hallmark properties of apoptosis, such as chromatin condensation, may be regulated by posttranslational histone modifications. Here we report that phosphorylation of histone H2B at serine 14 (S14) correlates with cells undergoing programmed cell death in vertebrates. We identify a 34 kDa apoptosis-induced H2B kinase as caspase-...

Nucleosome assembly in vivo requires assembly factors, such as histone chaperones, to bind to histones and mediate their deposition onto DNA. In yeast, the essential histone chaperone FACT (FAcilitates Chromatin Transcription) functions in nucleosome assembly and H2A-H2B deposition during transcription elongation and DNA replication. Recent studies have identified candidate histone residues tha...

Presented here is a solid phase chemical ligation strategy employing native chemical ligation and the commercially available Rink-amide linker as a key element in our approach. The method was applied for the synthesis of histone H2B, which sets the ground for the rapid preparation of posttranslationally modified analogues of this protein.

Histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation needed for transcription is mediated by the Set1 methyltransferase and requires prior monoubiquitination of histone H2B. In this issue, Latham et al. (2011) report that dimethylation of the yeast kinetochore protein Dam1 by Set1 similarly requires H2B monoubiquitination. Thus, H2B ubiquitination signals for methylation beyond chromatin.

Epigenetic changes in chromatin state are associated with aging. Notably, two histone modifications have recently been implicated in lifespan regulation, namely acetylation at H4 lysine 16 in yeast and methylation at H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) in nematodes. However, less is known about other histone modifications. Here, we report that cellular aging is associated with increased ubiquitylation of histon...

RNA Pol II elongation in eukaryotes is coupled with a series of histone modifications. Elongating RNA Pol II can be strongly stalled by lesions on the DNA template. However, it is unclear whether RNA Pol II stalling affects elongation-associated histone modifications. We have explored this important question by investigating the function of histone H2B mono-ubiquitylation (H2Bub), a well-charac...