Programmed remodeling of hyperacetylated histone H4 and H3 organization on the SV40 genome during lytic infection

The presence of nucleosomes containing hyperacetylated histone H4 and H3 on the early, late, and promoter regions of the SV40 genome in chromosomes isolated 30 min, 8 h, and 48 h post-infection was determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis with PCR amplification of fragmented SV40 chromatin using two complementary strategies. In chromosomes isolated at 30 min post-infection hyperacetylated H4 was found intermittently in all the three regions with no preference for one region over the other. In contrast, hyperacetylated H3 was organized primarily within the promoter region and occasionally elsewhere. At 8 h post-infection, nucleosomes with both hyperacetylated H4 and H3 were found regularly associated with all three regions of the SV40 genome. Finally, in SV40, chromosomes isolated 48 h post-infection hyperacetylated H4 and H3 were found frequently associated with all regions of the chromosome although hyperacetylated H4 was preferentially associated with the late region. The changing patterns of organization of hyperacetylated histones in SV40 chromosomes during the course of a lytic infection presumably reflects the different biological functions of the SV40 chromatin at each of the time points.