H4 — Zea mays

Summary

ZmH4 (ZM00001EB321260) on maize chromosome 7 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 multiple chromatin-modifying activities including histone acetylase, deacetylase, methylase, and methyl-CpG binding functions, and localises to complexes such as TIP60, Sin3-type, and SWR-C. ZmH4 is linked to diverse biological processes including chromatin decompaction, DNA replication licensing, telomeric silencing, mitosis, sucrose breakdown, jasmonic acid anabolism, and the MAPK cascade. Agronomically, it is associated with grain yield, plant height, flowering time, anthesis time, seed maturation and growth, leaf and root morphology, shoot branching, heterosis, and tolerance to salinity, heat, cold, and bacterial blight, as well as chloroplast development and brassinosteroid sensitivity.