histone
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Related to histone: nonhistone
histone
(hĭs`tōn), any of a class of proteinprotein,any of the group of highly complex organic compounds found in all living cells and comprising the most abundant class of all biological molecules. Protein comprises approximately 50% of cellular dry weight.
..... Click the link for more information. molecules found in the chromosomes of eukaryotic cellscell,
in biology, the unit of structure and function of which all plants and animals are composed. The cell is the smallest unit in the living organism that is capable of integrating the essential life processes. There are many unicellular organisms, e.g.
..... Click the link for more information. . They complex with the DNA (see nucleic acidnucleic acid,
any of a group of organic substances found in the chromosomes of living cells and viruses that play a central role in the storage and replication of hereditary information and in the expression of this information through protein synthesis.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and pack the DNA into tight masses of chromatin, which have the structure of coiled coils, much like a tangled telephone cord. The molecules are strongly basic and of relatively small size. They also serve a function in the transcription of DNA. The histones are rich in the amino acids argininearginine
, organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer participates in the biosynthesis of proteins.
..... Click the link for more information. and lysinelysine
, organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer appears in mammalian protein.
..... Click the link for more information. ; the five major subtypes of the class differ from one another chiefly in the relative amounts of these two amino acids. They have been greatly conserved during evolution, histone structures vary little in a wide range of organisms.
histone
[′hi‚stōn] (biochemistry)
Any of the strong, soluble basic proteins of cell nuclei that are precipitated by ammonium hydroxide.