Histone H1 and the evolution of protamines
Date
2017-04-21
Authors
Lewis, John David MacLean
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Abstract
It has been proposed that protamines have evolved vertically from an ancestral histone
H1. My research has concentrated mainly on the investigation of this proposal by
characterizing the sperm nuclear basic proteins (SNBPs) and their genes from a diverse
range of organisms which employ histones, protamines, or protamine-like proteins to
achieve sperm chromatin compaction. The complete gene sequences were obtained for
the large histone H1-related protamine-like PL-I of the bivalve mollusc Spisula
solidissima, the small protamine-like PL-III protein of related bivalve Mytilus
californianus, and the protamine of the squid, Loligo opalescens, which is the first
invertebrate protamine gene to be characterized. In addition, a full-length cDNA from the
novel protamine and histone H1-related sperm nuclear protein of the primitive chordate,
Styela montereyensis, was isolated and characterized. This genetic data, beyond providing
valuable information on the regulation and organization of the heterogeneous family of
SNBPs, has provided unequivocal support to the hypothesis that the chromatin-condensing
protamines of the sperm have evolved from the chromatin-condensing
histones of somatic cells. This has in turn allowed a more accurate tracing of the origin of
histone H1, protamines and protamine-like proteins in both the protostomes and
deuterostomes.
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Keywords
Histones