Preferential condensation of SAR-DNA by histone H1 and its SPKK containing octapeptide repeat motif

Abstract

Linker histone H1 binds preferentially the scaffold associated region (SAR) DNA elements that contain characteristic oligo dA·dT tracts. In the present study, we have compared the condensation brought about by histone H1 of a SAR DNA fragment in the histone spacer region of Drosophila melanogaster with that of a random DNA (pBR322 EcoRI- SalI) fragment by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The condensation of the SAR DNA fragment by histone H1 is 3–4-fold higher than that of the random DNA fragment. A 16-mer peptide, ATPKKSTKKTPKKAKK, the sequence that is present in the C-terminus of histone H1d, which has recently been shown to possess DNA and chromatin condensing properties, also condenses the SAR DNA fragment preferentially in a highly cooperative manner. We have proposed a model for the dynamics of chromatin structure involving histone H1-SAR DNA interaction through SPKK containing peptide motifs and its competition by AT-hook peptides present in the nonhistone chromosomal proteins like HMG-I and HMG-Y.