Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1977 Oct;4(10):3303-25.
doi: 10.1093/nar/4.10.3303.

Compact form of SV40 viral minichromosome is resistant to nuclease: possible implications for chromatin structure

A J Varshavsky, S A Nedospasov, V V Schmatchenko, V V Bakayev, P M Chumackov, G P Georgiev
Free PMC article

Compact form of SV40 viral minichromosome is resistant to nuclease: possible implications for chromatin structure

A J Varshavsky et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 1977 Oct.
Free PMC article

Abstract

We report two new findings bearing on the "supranucleo-somal" level of the structure of the Simian Virus 40 minichromosome. I) Isolated SV40 minichromosome which contains all five histones including HI/I/ exists in solution under approximately physiological ionic conditions as a compact roughly spherical particle approximately 300 A in diameter which is capable of fitting within the virus capsid. In spite of such a compact conformation of the minichromosome individual nucleosomes can be readily visualized within the particle. Compact state of SV40 minichromosome depends on both the presence of histone HI and maintenance of approximately physiological ionic strength of solution (micron approximately 0.15). Removal of HI results in a conversion of the compact minichromosomes into an extended (circular beaded) structure. 2) The compact form of the SV40 minichromosome in contract to its circular beaded form is virtually completely resistant to staphylococcal nuclease, strongly suggesting that in particular nuclease-sensitive parts of the internucleosomal DNA regions are not exposed on the outside of the compact SV40 minichromosome. On the other hand, DNase I which is known to attack both inter-and intranucleosomal DNA in the chronatin /2,3/ readily digests the compact form of the SV40 minichromosome. Possible models of the compact minichromosome and implications for higher order structures of the cellular chromatin are discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. J Virol. 1977 Mar;21(3):1079-84 - PubMed
    1. J Virol. 1975 Jan;15(1):167-72 - PubMed
    1. J Virol. 1975 Mar;15(3):439-48 - PubMed
    1. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1975;39 Pt 1:235-41 - PubMed
    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1975 Dec;72(12):4876-80 - PubMed