Distinct Site Specificity of Two Pea Histone Deacetylase Complexes

We report on the site specificity of two intact pea histone deacetylase complexes. HD1 deacetylates lysines 5 and 16 of H4 in the order K16 > K5, while in the case of H3 the preferred order is K4 >> K18 approximately K9. The specificity of the HD2 complex is markedly different. The preferred residues in H4 are K8 approximately K5 > K16, while in H3 deacetylation, the complex HD2 prefers sites 4 and 18. To obtain these results, we have used a novel procedure based on the SPOT technique, a method to synthesize peptides on membrane supports. Different sets of membranes with sequentially overlapping histone peptides containing acetylated lysines in the sites corresponding to all in vivo acetyla…