Structure/Function Analysis of the Hif1 Histone Chaperone in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Understanding the regulation of chromatin structure is a vital aspect of molecular biology regarding its influences on biological processes such as DNA replication, transcription (gene expression), DNA repair, chromosome segregation and recombination. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a histone chaperone called Hif1 has been found in the nuclei as having a functional role in chromatin assembly. Hif1 is a homolog of the human protein NASP that is involved in the maintenance of genome stability. Previously, Hif1 has been shown to physically interact with Hat1, Hat2 and H3/H4 to form the NuB4 complex directly involved in chromatin assembly. A molecular genetic approach was conducted to determine which domain of Hif1 is involved in the interaction with the HAT1 complex.