Histone variants: making structurally and functionally divergent nucleosomes and linkers in chromatin

Abstract

In addition to the post-translational modifications of histone proteins, emerging literature suggests that the mosaic nucleosomes formed by incorporation of various histone variants provide another mechanism for modifying chromatin structure and function. The locally defined chromatin by histone variants is involved in transcriptional regulation, DNA repair, centromere packaging, maintenance of pericentromeric heterochromatin, stress responses, temperature sensing, development, and many other biological processes. Here, we review the universal histone variants in H2A, H3 and H1 families and their roles in epigenetics.

Keywords

H2AX / H2AZ / H3.3 / CenH3 / H1

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 91019006 to Y.F.) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KSCX2-YW-N-099 to Y.F.)

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