Histone-bound RNA, a component of native nucleohistone

Abstract

We have found that native histone molecules as they occur in the nucleohistone component of pea bud chromatin contain RNA molecules chemically linked to them. The histone-bound RNA constitutes a new class of RNA, differing from other classes in base composition and in chain length. That the RNA content of native histone has not been discovered heretofore is due to the fact that histones are commonly extracted from chromatin with acid, a condition under which the RNA-histone bond is cleaved. Since the nucleohistone component of chromatin is inactive in the support of DNA-dependent RNA synthesis and since the histones are one class of agents responsible for such repression, their association with a specific class of RNA is relevant to considerations of the control of genetic activity.