High impact information on Hira

• The Dhh cDNA encodes an open reading frame of 1061 amino acids with high similarity scores to the HIRA polypeptides, as well as two hypothetical polypeptides from C. elegans and S. pombe, in a protein database search [1].
• More specifically, in-situ hybridization shows that Dhh transcripts, which are initially detected in nurse cells during mid-oogenesis, become localized to the developing oocyte at high levels [1].
• Here we show that ssm is a point mutation in the Hira gene, thus demonstrating that the histone chaperone protein HIRA is required for nucleosome assembly during sperm nucleus decondensation [2].
• The histone H3.3 chaperone HIRA is essential for chromatin assembly in the male pronucleus [2].
• The exclusive marking of paternal chromosomes with H3.3 represents a primary epigenetic distinction between parental genomes in the zygote, and underlines an important consequence of the critical and highly specialized function of HIRA at fertilization [2].

References