HIST1H2AK

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

HIST1H2AK is a human gene that encodes a histone protein called H2A type 1. Histones are basic nuclear proteins that help package DNA into nucleosomes, the building blocks of chromatin. A nucleosome is formed by two copies each of the core histones H2A, H2B, H3, and H4, around which about 146 base pairs of DNA are wrapped. The linker histone H1 sits between nucleosomes and helps fold chromatin into higher-order structures.

Key facts about HIST1H2AK:
- It is part of the histone H2A family and located in the small histone gene cluster on chromosome 6p22-p21.3.
- The gene is intronless and its transcripts lack a poly(A) tail, instead ending with a palindromic termination element.
- HIST1H2AK is a replication-dependent histone gene, meaning its expression rises during DNA replication in dividing cells.
- The protein forms a dimer with H2B and, together with H3 and H4, participates in the histone octamer around which DNA is wound.
- There are orthologs in other species (for example, a mouse version located on chromosome 13).

In short, HIST1H2AK provides a core histone component essential for DNA packaging and chromatin structure in human cells.