Electron microscopy analysis of ATP-independent nucleosome unfolding by FACT

Anastasiia L. Sivkina, Maria G. Karlova, Maria E. Valieva, Laura L. McCullough, Timothy Formosa, Alexey K. Shaytan, Alexey V. Feofanov, Mikhail P. Kirpichnikov, Olga S. Sokolova, Vasily M. Studitsky

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

FACT is a histone chaperone that participates in nucleosome removal and reassembly during transcription and replication. We used electron microscopy to study FACT, FACT:Nhp6 and FACT:Nhp6:nucleosome complexes, and found that all complexes adopt broad ranges of configurations, indicating high flexibility. We found unexpectedly that the DNA binding protein Nhp6 also binds to the C-terminal tails of FACT subunits, inducing more open geometries of FACT even in the absence of nucleosomes. Nhp6 therefore supports nucleosome unfolding by altering both the structure of FACT and the properties of nucleosomes. Complexes formed with FACT, Nhp6, and nucleosomes also produced a broad range of structures, revealing a large number of potential intermediates along a proposed unfolding pathway. The data suggest that Nhp6 has multiple roles before and during nucleosome unfolding by FACT, and that the process proceeds through a series of energetically similar intermediate structures, ultimately leading to an extensively unfolded form.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2
Pages (from-to)2
JournalCommunications Biology
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2022

Keywords

  • Adenosine Triphosphate/chemistry
  • DNA-Binding Proteins/chemistry
  • High Mobility Group Proteins/chemistry
  • Humans
  • Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
  • Nucleosomes/chemistry
  • Protein Folding
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins/chemistry
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics
  • Transcriptional Elongation Factors/chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Electron microscopy analysis of ATP-independent nucleosome unfolding by FACT'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this