Disruption of Reconstituted Nucleosomes

We find that reconstituted nucleosome cores containing specific DNA sequences dissociate on dilution. This disruption of histone-DNA contacts leading to the release of free DNA is facilitated by the presence of the core histone tails, MgCl2 (5 mM), KCl (60 mM), and temperatures above 0 degree C. Under reaction conditions that are commonly used to assess trans-acting factor access to nucleosomal DNA, histone-DNA contacts are on the threshold of instability. We demonstrate how dilution of reconstituted nucleosomes containing a TATA box can facilitate TBP access to DNA.