Columnar packing of telomeric nucleosomes.

Telomeres belong to the key functional elements of eukaryotic chromosomes. Like all the other parts of the genome, they exist and function as complexes of DNA with histones and various nonhistone proteins, including specific telomere-binding proteins. Studies of telomeric chromatin have shown on the one hand a lack of nucleosome positioning and on the other hand a specific nucleosome spacing as revealed by micrococcal nuclease digestion. Based on these properties and on accumulated experimental data, we present a model for a columnar packing of nucleosomes in telomeric chromatin. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.