The fractionation of histones isolated from Euglena gracilis

Abstract

1. The histones of Euglena gracilis were separated by gel filtration into five fractions. 2. Each fraction was characterized in terms of its electrophoretic, solubility and compositional properties. 3. Euglena gracilis clearly contains histones corresponding to vertebrate H1, H2B, H3 and H4 fractions, although they all differ in containing more lysine. 4. The remaining Euglena histone is considered to be homologous to vertebrate histone H2A, but it differs in having a much higher ratio of lysine to arginine. 5. The Euglena histone H1 appears to be lacking in aspartic acid. 6. Electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate indicates that the molecular weights of the Euglena histones are close to those of the homologous vertebrate histones.