Porcine Histone-H2b ELISA Kit

Gene transcription by RNA polymerase II is regulated by activator proteins that recruit the coactivator complexes SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5-acetyltransferase)(1,2) and transcription factor IID (TFIID)(2-4). SAGA is required for all regulated transcription(5) and is conserved among eukaryotes(6). SAGA contains four modules(7-9): the activator-binding Tra1 module, the core module, the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) module and the histone deubiquitination (DUB) module. Previous studies provided partial structures(10-14), but the structure of the central core module is unknown. Here we present the cryo-electron microscopy structure of SAGA from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and resolve the core module at 3.3 angstrom resolution. The core module consists of subunits Taf5, Sgf73 and Spt20, and a histone octamer-like fold. The octamer-like fold comprises the heterodimers Taf6-Taf9, Taf10-Spt7 and Taf12-Ada1, and two histone-fold domains in Spt3. Spt3 and the adjacent subunit Spt8 interact with the TATA box-binding protein (TBP)(2,7,15-17). The octamer-like fold and its TBP-interacting region are similar in TFIID, whereas Taf5 and the Taf6 HEAT domain adopt distinct conformations. Taf12 and Spt20 form flexible connections to the Tra1 module, whereas Sgf73 tethers the DUB module. Binding of a nucleosome to SAGA displaces the HAT and DUB modules from the core-module surface, allowing the DUB module to bind one face of an ubiquitinated nucleosome. Structural studies on the yeast transcription coactivator complex SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5-acetyltransferase) provide insights into the mechanism of initiation of regulated transcription by this multiprotein complex, which is conserved among eukaryotes.

Nucleosomes play a dual role in compacting the genome and regulating the access to DNA. To unravel the underlying mechanism, we study fluorescently labeled mononucleosomes by multi-parameter FRET measurements and characterize their structural and dynamic heterogeneity upon NaCl-induced destabilization. Species-selective fluorescence lifetime analysis and dynamic photon distribution analysis reveal intermediates during nucleosome opening and lead to a coherent structural and kinetic model. In dynamic octasomes and hexasomes the interface between the H2A-H2B dimers and the (H3-H4)(2) tetramer opens asymmetrically by an angle of approximate to 20 degrees on a 50 and 15 mu s time scale, respectively. This is followed by a slower stepwise release of the dimers coupled with DNA unwrapping. A mutation (H2A-R81A) at the interface between H2A and H3 facilitates initial opening, confirming the central role of the dimer: tetramer interface for nucleosome stability. Partially opened states such as those described here might serve as convenient nucleation sites for DNA-recognizing proteins.