Archaeal histones: dynamic and versatile genome architects

Abstract

Genome organization and compaction in Archaea involves different chromatin proteins, among which homologues of eukaryotic histones. Archaeal histones are considered the ancestors of their eukaryotic counterparts, which isreflected in the way they position along the genome and wrap DNA. Evolution from the archaeal modes of action to the prototypical eukaryotic nucleosome may be attributed to altered histone-histone interactions and DNA sequence determinants cooperating to yield stable multimeric structures. The identification of a new candidate phylum, proposed to be a missing link between archaea and eukaryotes, Lokiarchaeaota, may be instrumental in addressing this hypothesis.

Keywords

• archaeal chromatin
• genome architecture
• nucleoid
• Archaea
• Lokiarchaeota
• histone
• HMf
• HTk
• Alba