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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-SA 4.0Molecular biology of the cell

Adventures through wonderland: the wild world of histone gene organization, evolution, and regulation in over 250 species

  • Sierra Falcone1,2
  • Pravrutha Raman3,4
  • William F Marzluff5
  • Leila E Rieder2
5 affiliations
  1. 1Genetics and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322
  2. 2Biology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322
  3. 3Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington 98109
  4. 4Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125
  5. 5Departments of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599
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Abstract

Histone proteins are critical for the compaction and organization of DNA. In eukaryotes, these proteins are typically encoded by a multigene family. Replication-dependent histones are highly conserved, both in their amino acid sequence and in their S-phase-linked expression. Despite striking protein and regulatory similarities, histone genes often reside in wildly different organizations within genomes, even those of closely related species. At the same time, distantly related species sometimes share organizational themes. How each species similarly regulates histone genes despite organizational differences remains unclear, and a multi-species approach is necessary to address this knowledge gap. Here, we distill, categorize, and describe the histone gene organizations of over 250 species spanning 11 phyla. Our comprehensive curation of histone gene organizations provides new insights into the divergence and evolutionary changes of this ancient, conserved gene family. Additionally, we suggest that histone gene organization may contribute to subsequent regulation and misregulation in disease.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{falcone2026adventures,
  title = {{Adventures through wonderland: the wild world of histone gene organization, evolution, and regulation in over 250 species}},
  author = {Sierra Falcone and Pravrutha Raman and William F Marzluff and Leila E Rieder},
  journal = {Molecular biology of the cell},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.1091/mbc.e26-04-0191},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e26-04-0191},
  note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Adventures through wonderland: the wild world of histone gene organization, evolution, and regulation in over 250 species
AU  - Sierra Falcone
AU  - Pravrutha Raman
AU  - William F Marzluff
AU  - Leila E Rieder
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/25
JO  - Molecular biology of the cell
DO  - 10.1091/mbc.e26-04-0191
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e26-04-0191
AB  - Histone proteins are critical for the compaction and organization of DNA. In eukaryotes, these proteins are typically encoded by a multigene family. Replication-dependent histones are highly conserved, both in their amino acid sequence and in their S-phase-linked expression. Despite striking protein and regulatory similarities, histone genes often reside in wildly different organizations within genomes, even those of closely related species. At the same time, distantly related species sometimes share organizational themes. How each species similarly regulates histone genes despite organizational differences remains unclear, and a multi-species approach is necessary to address this knowledge gap. Here, we distill, categorize, and describe the histone gene organizations of over 250 species spanning 11 phyla. Our comprehensive curation of histone gene organizations provides new insights into the divergence and evolutionary changes of this ancient, conserved gene family. Additionally, we suggest that histone gene organization may contribute to subsequent regulation and misregulation in disease.
SN  - 1059-1524
SN  - 1939-4586
ER  -