Primary Citation of Related Structures:   1HIO, 2HIO
PubMed Abstract: 
The structure of the octameric histone core of the nucleosome has been determined by x-ray crystallography to a resolution of 3.1 A. The histone octamer is a tripartite assembly in which a centrally located (H3-H4)2 tetramer is flanked by two H2A-H2B dimers ...
The structure of the octameric histone core of the nucleosome has been determined by x-ray crystallography to a resolution of 3.1 A. The histone octamer is a tripartite assembly in which a centrally located (H3-H4)2 tetramer is flanked by two H2A-H2B dimers. It has a complex outer surface; depending on the perspective, the structure appears as a wedge or as a flat disk. The disk represents the planar projection of a left-handed proteinaceous superhelix with approximately 28 A pitch. The diameter of the particle is 65 A and the length is 60 A at its maximum and approximately 10 A at its minimum extension; these dimensions are in agreement with those reported earlier by Klug et al. [Klug, A., Rhodes, D., Smith, J., Finch, J. T. & Thomas, J. O. (1980) Nature (London) 287, 509-516]. The folded histone chains are elongated rather than globular and are assembled in a characteristic "handshake" motif. The individual polypeptides share a common central structural element of the helix-loop-helix type, which we name the histone fold.
Related Citations: 
Spectropolarimetric Analysis of the Core Histone Octamer and its Subunits Godfrey, J.E., Baxevanis, A.D., Moudrianakis, E.N. (1990) Biochemistry 29: 965
Crystallographic Structure of the Octameric Histone Core of the Nucleosome at a Resolution of 3.3 A Burlingame, R.W., Love, W.E., Wang, B.C., Hamlin, R., Xuong, N.H., Moudrianakis, E.N. (1985) Science 228: 546
Crystals of the Octameric Histone Core of the Nucleosome Burlingame, R.W., Love, W.E., Moudrianakis, E.N. (1984) Science 223: 413
Reversible Association of Calf Thymus Histones to Form the Symmetrical Octamer (H2Ah2Bh3H4)2: A Case of a Mixed-Associating System Godfrey, J.E., Eickbush, T.H., Moudrianakis, E.N. (1980) Biochemistry 19: 1339
The Histone Core Complex: An Octamer Assembled by Two Sets of Protein-Protein Interactions Eickbush, T.H., Moudrianakis, E.N. (1978) Biochemistry 17: 4955
The Compaction of DNA Helices Into Either Continuous Supercoils or Folded-Fiber Rods and Toroids Eickbush, T.H., Moudrianakis, E.N. (1978) Cell 13: 295
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218.