InterPro domain: IPR007125

Five major families of histones exist: H1/H5, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 [ 1 ]. Histones H2A, H2B, H3 and H4 are known as the core histones, while histones H1 and H5 are known as the linker histones. The core histones together with some other DNA binding proteins form a superfamily defined by a common fold and distant sequence similarities [ 2 , 3 ]. Some proteins contain local homology domains related to the histone fold [ 4 ].

This entry represents a domain found in histones H2A, H2B and H3. This domain can also be found in transcription factors, such as OsNF-YC2 from rice [ 5 ].

1. Recognition and classification of histones using support vector machine. J. Comput. Biol. 13, 102-12
2. A variety of DNA-binding and multimeric proteins contain the histone fold motif. Nucleic Acids Res. 23, 2685-91
3. Histone and histone fold sequences and structures: a database. Nucleic Acids Res. 25, 272-3
4. Crystal structure of the nucleosome core particle at 2.8 A resolution. Nature 389, 251-60
5. OsNF-YC2 and OsNF-YC4 proteins inhibit flowering under long-day conditions in rice. Planta 243, 563-76