Abstract
THE histones, the basic proteins associated with DNA in multicellular organisms , are thought to control transcription in some way1. Five main fractions from calf thymus2,3 designated F1, F2B, F2A1, F2A2 and F3 have been isolated and characterized and more recently it has been shown that these fractions also exist in the somatic cells of birds4, fish5 and plants6. But in very specialized cells, which contain highly condensed chromatin and which do not synthesize RNA or protein, other basic proteins are found. Some spermatozoa contain protamine7, and the nucleated erythrocytes of birds contain a unique histone designated F2C (ref. 8). It is thought that this histone is responsible for the final repression of the DNA in the avian erythrocyte9, being an evolutionary alternative to the loss of the nucleus that occurs in the mammalian erythrocyte.
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JOHNS, E., CONNORS, T. Specific Toxicity of Histone Fraction F2C against TLX5 Lymphoma Ascites Cells in vitro. Nature 228, 1201–1202 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/2281201a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2281201a0
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