| First Author | Montellier E | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | Genes Dev | Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 15 | Pages | 1680-92 |
| PubMed ID | 23884607 | Mgi Jnum | J:199360 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5502464 | Doi | 10.1101/gad.220095.113 |
| Citation | Montellier E, et al. (2013) Chromatin-to-nucleoprotamine transition is controlled by the histone H2B variant TH2B. Genes Dev 27(15):1680-92 |
| abstractText | The conversion of male germ cell chromatin to a nucleoprotamine structure is fundamental to the life cycle, yet the underlying molecular details remain obscure. Here we show that an essential step is the genome-wide incorporation of TH2B, a histone H2B variant of hitherto unknown function. Using mouse models in which TH2B is depleted or C-terminally modified, we show that TH2B directs the final transformation of dissociating nucleosomes into protamine-packed structures. Depletion of TH2B induces compensatory mechanisms that permit histone removal by up-regulating H2B and programming nucleosome instability through targeted histone modifications, including lysine crotonylation and arginine methylation. Furthermore, after fertilization, TH2B reassembles onto the male genome during protamine-to-histone exchange. Thus, TH2B is a unique histone variant that plays a key role in the histone-to-protamine packing of the male genome and guides genome-wide chromatin transitions that both precede and follow transmission of the male genome to the egg. |
