Core histone macro-H2A.1 is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''H2AFY''
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
.
Function
Histone
In biology, histones are highly basic proteins abundant in lysine and arginine residues that are found in eukaryotic cell nuclei. They act as spools around which DNA winds to create structural units called nucleosomes. Nucleosomes in turn a ...
s are basic nuclear
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...
s that are responsible for the
nucleosome structure of the chromosomal fiber in
eukaryotes. Nucleosomes consist of approximately 146 bp of
DNA wrapped around a
histone octamer
A histone octamer is the eight-protein complex found at the center of a nucleosome core particle. It consists of two copies of each of the four core histone proteins ( H2A, H2B, H3, and H4). The octamer assembles when a tetramer, containing two ...
composed of pairs of each of the four core histones (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4). The
chromatin
Chromatin is a complex of DNA and protein found in eukaryotic cells. The primary function is to package long DNA molecules into more compact, denser structures. This prevents the strands from becoming tangled and also plays important roles in r ...
fiber is further compacted through the interaction of a linker histone,
H1, with the DNA between the nucleosomes to form higher order chromatin structures. This gene encodes a member of the histone H2A family. It replaces conventional H2A histones in a subset of nucleosomes where it represses
transcription
Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including:
Genetics
* Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...
and participates in stable
X chromosome inactivation
X-inactivation (also called Lyonization, after English geneticist Mary Lyon) is a process by which one of the copies of the X chromosome is inactivated in therian female mammals. The inactive X chromosome is silenced by being packaged into a ...
.
Alternative splicing results in multiple
transcript variants
Alternative splicing, or alternative RNA splicing, or differential splicing, is an alternative splicing process during gene expression that allows a single gene to code for multiple proteins. In this process, particular exons of a gene may be ...
encoding different isoforms.
Expression of these isoforms is associated to several cancers, such as hepatocellular carcinoma.
References
Further reading
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External links
PDBe-KBprovides an overview of all the structure information available in the PDB for Human Core histone macro-H2A.1
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