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Regions of variant histone His2AvD required for Drosophila development

Nature volume 399, pages 694–697 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

One way in which a distinct chromosomal domain could be established to carry out a specialized function is by the localized incorporation of specific histone variants into nucleosomes. H2AZ, one such variant of the histone protein H2A, is required for the survival of Drosophila melanogaster1, Tetrahymena thermophila2 and mice (R. Faast et al., in preparation). To search for the unique features of Drosophila H2AZ (His2AvD, also referred to as H2AvD) that are required for its essential function, we have performed amino-acid swap experiments in which residues unique to Drosophila His2AvD were replaced with equivalently positioned Drosophila H2A.1 residues. Mutated His2AvD genes encoding modified versions of this histone were transformed into Drosophila and tested for their ability to rescue null-mutant lethality. We show that the unique feature of His2AvD does not reside in its histone fold but in its carboxy-terminal domain. This C-terminal region maps to a short α-helix in H2A that is buried deep inside the nucleosome core.

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Figure 1: Mutagenesis of the His2AvD coding sequence.
Figure 2: Rescue of His2AvD 810 homozygous null lethality by His2AvD transgenes.
Figure 3: Molecular modelling of the nucleosome core containing His2AvD.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. King and J. A. Lake for help in constructing mutants M5, M6, M7 and CT.

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Author notes

  1. Julian R. E. Wells: Deceased

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The John Curtin School of Medical Research, the Australian National University, PO Box 334, Canberra, 2601, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    Michael John Clarkson, Frank Gibson & David John Tremethick

  2. Department of Biochemistry,

    Michael John Clarkson & Julian R. E. Wells

  3. Department of Genetics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, South Australia, Australia

    Robert Saint

Authors
  1. Michael John Clarkson
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  2. Julian R. E. Wells
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  3. Frank Gibson
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  4. Robert Saint
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Correspondence to Robert Saint or David John Tremethick.

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Clarkson, M., Wells, J., Gibson, F. et al. Regions of variant histone His2AvD required for Drosophila development. Nature 399, 694–697 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/21436

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