Se. Gerchman et al., EXPRESSION OF CHICKEN LINKER HISTONES IN ESCHERICHIA-COLI - SOURCES OF PROBLEMS AND METHODS FOR OVERCOMING SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES, Protein expression and purification, 5(3), 1994, pp. 242-251
Expression of histones in Escherichia coli is important in structural
studies on chromatin, because it allows isotopic labeling such as deut
eration and replacement of methionines with selenomethionine as well a
s expression of specific domains of histones. We show that full-length
H5 cannot be expressed in E. coli. We have determined that the proble
m is translational rather than transcriptional. Pulse-labeling studies
show that protein turnover is not the reason for lack of accumulation
. On dissecting the gene, we find that the problem lies in expressing
the highly charged C-terminal tail of H5. We can make progressively in
creasing amounts of the tail, but at the point where over two-thirds o
f this region is transcribed, the protein ceases to be made. Surprisin
gly, full-length H1 is made. In vitro studies show that the H5 gene ca
n be translated in a rabbit reticulocyte system but not in an E. coli
system, suggesting that there may be a difference in the ability of eu
karyotic and prokaryotic ribosomes to translate this message. The expr
ession of the globular domains of H5 and H1 posed a different problem.
There was little or no expression of some of the constructs, even tho
ugh they were fragments of larger constructs that were well made. Repl
acement of the first five codons downstream of the initiating ATG codo
n with those optimized for E. coli, and which were AT rich, restored e
xpression. This may have general implications for expression of eukary
otic proteins in E. coli. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.