The DNA-binding protein HTa from < i > Thermoplasma acidophilum < /i > is an archaeal histone analog

Histones are a principal constituent of chromatin in eukaryotes and fundamental to our understanding of eukaryotic gene regulation. In archaea, histones are widespread but not universal: several lineages have lost histone genes. What prompted or facilitated these losses and how archaea without histones organize their chromatin remains largely unknown. Here, we elucidate primary chromatin architecture in an archaeon without histones,Thermoplasma acidophilum,which harbours a HU family protein (HTa) that protects part of the genome from micrococcal nuclease digestion. Charting HTa-based chromatin architecturein vitro, in vivoand in an HTa-expressingE. colistrain, we present evidence that HTa is an archaeal histone analog. HTa preferentially binds to GC-rich sequences, exhibits invariant positioning throughout the growth cycle, and shows archaeal histone-like oligomerization behaviour. Our results suggest that HTa, a DNA-binding protein of bacterial origin, has converged onto an architectural role filled by histones in other archaea.
Source: eLife - Category: Biomedical Science Tags: Chromosomes and Gene Expression Evolutionary Biology Source Type: research