H4 — Zea mays

Summary

ZM00001EB148730 (ZmH4, H4) on maize chromosome 3 encodes a core histone H4 protein, a structural constituent of chromatin with histone-fold and CENP-T/H4_C domains. The gene product is associated with diverse molecular functions including DNA binding, protein heterodimerization, histone acetylase, deacetylase, and methylase activities, as well as methyl-CpG binding. ZmH4 is linked to chromatin decompaction, DNA replication licensing, telomeric silencing, mitosis, and post-translational modification. It has been connected to numerous agronomic traits including grain yield, plant height, flowering time, anthesis time, seed maturation, heat and salinity tolerance, bacterial blight disease resistance, heterosis, shoot branching, leaf senescence, and root development. The protein localizes to nucleoli, thylakoids, chloroplast envelopes, plasmodesmata, and chromatin-modifying complexes such as TIP60, Sin3-type, and SWR-C.