Nonhistone proteins control gene expression in reconstituted chromatin.

Chromatin was reconstituted from the purified DNA and histones of chicken erythrocytes and the nonhistone proteins of either chicken reticulocytes or chicken liver. Reconstituted chromatins, native chicken reticulocyte chromatin, and free DNA were transcribed with Escherichia coli RNA polymerase and the concentrations of globin-specific sequences in the RNA products were measured by hybridization with [(3)H]DNA complementary to chicken globin messenger RNA. Reticulocyte, but not liver, nonhistone proteins were shown to activate the globin genes in reconstituted erythrocyte chromatin. The transcripts of native and reconstituted chromatins were indistinguishable in respect of both the total yield of the RNA and the fractional yield of globin-specific sequences.