Odd histone helps suppress jumping genes in stem cells, study says
Monday, May 4, 2015 - 19:00
in Biology & Nature
Remnants of viruses, called retrotransposons, jumped around more frequently within the genomes of cells lacking the histone variant H3.3. A family of proteins known as histones provides support and structure to DNA, but for years, scientists have been puzzling over occasional outliers among these histones, which appear to exist for specific, but often mysterious reasons. Now, researchers have uncovered a new purpose for one such histone variant: preventing genetic mutations by keeping certain so-called "jumping genes" in place.