nucleosome

American

[noo-klee-uh-sohm, nyoo-] / ˈnu kli əˌsoʊm, ˈnyu- /

noun

Cell Biology.

any of the repeating subunits of chromatin occurring at intervals along a strand of DNA, consisting of DNA coiled around histone.

nucleosome British

/ ˈnjuːklɪəˌsəʊm /

noun

a repeating structural unit of chromatin that contains DNA and histones

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

nucleosome Scientific

/ no̅o̅′klē-ə-sōm′ /

Any of the repeating subunits of chromatin in eukaryotic cells, consisting of a DNA chain coiled around a core of histones.
See Note at histone

Etymology

Origin of nucleosome

First recorded in 1960–65; nucleo- + -some ³

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The nucleosome forms a fundamental repeating unit of chromatin.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2024

Each nucleosome consists of approximately 147 base pairs of DNA wrapped around a histone octamer which is composed of two H2A-H2B dimers and one H3-H4 tetramer.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2024

In this first application of single-cell RNA sequencing to a eukaryotic pathogen, Bjrn Kafsack and colleagues determine the transcriptional changes induced by AP2-G, identifying other AP2 transcription factors, histone-modifying enzymes and regulators of nucleosome positioning.

From Nature • Sep. 24, 2017

A nucleosome is a single, wrapped DNA-histone complex.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

This nucleosome is linked to the next one by a short strand of DNA that is free of histones.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023