Lecture 5
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ١
Prokaryotic chromosome
In bacteria, which being prokaryotic
organisms, the entire hereditary material is
packed into a single, irregularly folded
compact mass
called nucleoid or genophore or bacterial
chromosome.
It is short and simple consisting of a single
DNA molecule
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ٢
Escherichia coli chromosome
The E. coli chromosome is a closed-circular DNA of
length 4.6 million base pairs.
Which resides in a region of the cell called the
nucleoid
In normal growth, the DNA is replicated continuously
The genome is organized into 50-100 large loops or
domains of 50-100 kb in length
Which are constrained by binding to a membrane-
protein complex
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ٣
prokaryotic chromosome
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ٤
Supercoiling of the genome
The genome is negatively supercoiled
Individual domains may be topologically
independent
They may be able to support different levels of
supercoiling
The DNA domains are compacted by wrapping
around nonspecific DNA- binding proteins such as
HU and H-NS (histone like proteins)
These proteins constrain about half of the
supercoiling of the DNA
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ٥
Supercoiling of the genome
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ٦
Chromatin structure
Eukaryotic chromosomes each contains a
long linear DNA molecule in the nucleus
The name chromatin is given to the highly
ordered DNA-protein complex
Its structure serves to package and organize
the chromosomal DNA
Its able to alter its level of packing at different
stages of the cell cycle
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ٧
Chromatin structure
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ٨
Histones
The major protein components of chromatin are the
histones;
Small, basic proteins which bind tightly to DNA
There are four families of core histone, H2A, H2B,
H3, H4, and H1
Which has some different properties, and a distinct
role
Individual species have a number of variants of the
different histone proteins
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ٩
Nucleosome
The nucleosome core particle
consists of approximately 147
base pairs of DNA
wrapped in 1.67 left-handed
superhelical turns
around a histone octamer
consisting of 2 copies
each
of the core histones H2A ،H2B ،
H3 ،and H4.
The crystal structure of the
nucleosome core particle
consisting of H2A , H2B , H3
and H4 and DNA.
The view is from the top
through the superhelical axis.
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ١٠
The role of H1
Linker histones such as H1 and its isoforms
are involved in chromatin compaction
and sit at the base of the nucleosome near
the DNA entry and exit
binding to the linker region of the DNA.
Non-condensed nucleosomes without the
linker histone resemble "beads on a string of
DNA" under an electron microscope
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ١١
Conformations of Chromatin Fibers
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ١٢
Linker DNA
The linker DNA between the nucleosome
cores varies
Between less than 10 and more than 100 bp
But is normally around 55 bp
The nucleosomal repeat units is around 200
bp
Chromatin is organized into a larger
structure, known as the 30 nm fiber or
solenoid
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ١٣
The 30 nm fiber
Or solenoid consist of a left-handed helix of
nucleosome
With approximately six nucleosomes per
helical turn
Most chromatin axists in this form
On the largest scale, chromosomal DNA is
organized into loops of up to 100 kb in the
form of the 30 nm fiber
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ١٤
Solenoid
Four proposed
structures of the 30nm
chromatin filament for
DNA repeat length per
nucleosomes ranging
from 177 to 207 bp.
Linker DNA in yellow
and nucleosomal DNA
in pink.
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ١٥
References
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromosome
www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406500050.html
www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3409800133.html -
www.tutorvista.com/search/prokaryotic-chromosome
www.bookrags.com/.../chromosome-prokaryotic-gen-01/ -
users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/.../G/GenomeSizes.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatin
Molecular Biology. P.C. Turner, A.G. Mclennan, A.D. Bates &
M.R.H. White.School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool,
Liverpool, UK. Second edition. BIOS Scientific Publishers, 2000.
Molecular Biology ٣٢٥ Sabah Linjawi ١٦
