THE HISTONES OF CHICKEN ERYTHROCYTE NUCLEI

Abstract

Five fractions of chicken erythrocyte histone have been obtained by ion-exchange chromatography, and compared with calf thymus histone fractions in amino acid composition, electrophoretic behavior in starch gel, N-terminal amino acid content, and fingerprint of tryptic peptides. A major erythrocyte histone fraction, rich in both lysine and arginine, as well as serine, was peculiar to these singular cells, and appeared to replace the "arginine-rich" histone of other somatic tissues. In contrast, the other four erythrocyte histone fractions were closely similar in kind to their chromatographic counterparts in calf tissues, despite some differences in number and yield. The occurrence of this unusual histone may be related to the limited biosynthetic capacities of these cells with highly differentiated nuclei.