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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Proteome Res. 2020 Oct 2;20(1):27–37. doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00442

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Comparison of DNA organization and condensation in histones and HU orthologues. (A) In the nucleus, the DNA is wrapped approximately two times around a core of histone proteins, composed of two copies of each histone (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4) or a histone variant. Histone H1 serves to hold the wrapped DNA in place and stabilize linker DNA between nucleosomes. The wrapping of DNA around histones at regular intervals condenses and further organizes the chromatin. (B) In bacteria, HU family proteins, either hetero- or homodimers, bind nonspecifically along the chromosome and introduce large bends (105° to > 180°). DNA can also wrap around an HU dimer in a right-handed orientation. These two actions help organize and condense the circular bacterial chromosome analogously to histones.