Histone Cluster 3, H2a (HIST3H2A)

Histones are basic nuclear proteins that are responsible for the nucleosome structure of the chromosomal fiber in eukaryotes. Nucleosomes consist of approximately 146 bp of DNA wrapped around a histone octamer composed of pairs of each of the four core histones (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4). The chromatin fiber is further compacted through the interaction of a linker histone, H1, with the DNA between the nucleosomes to form higher order chromatin structures. Both the mouse and human H2a and H2b proteins consist of at least 10 non-allelic variants, making the complexity of the histone protein complement significantly greater than previously thought. HIST3H2A is intronless and encodes a member of the histone H2A family. Transcripts from this gene contain a palindromic termination element.