Phosphate and thiol groups in histone f3 from rat liver and thymus nuclei

Abstract

Differences in washing procedures and conditions of dialysis affected the type of histone f 3 obtained from rat liver and thymus nuclei. Sulfur-rich preparations of f 3 contained phosphate and had SH+SS: phosphorus ratio 1:2. Sulfur-rich f3 from livers of [14C] adenine-labelled rats gave counts indicating a phosphorus: adenine ratio 1:1. Evidence was presented that histones f 3 and f 1 exist in nuclei as families of proteins, differing with respect to their sulfur or phosphorus content or both. The significance of the different states of phosphorylation and oxidation of histones f 1 and f 3 was discussed.