Interactive explorer
Nucleosome structure explorer
Toggle labels on the nucleosome — the basic repeating unit of eukaryotic chromatin.
What this explorer teaches
Explore the histone octamer (H2A, H2B, H3, H4), wrapped DNA, linker DNA, and H1 in context.
Learning goal: Connect structure language (octamer, linker, tails) to packaging and accessibility discussions.
Interactive model
Educational model — simplified for learning. Not medical advice. Features are conceptual and not drawn to molecular scale unless stated.
Histone core / octamer
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Text-only walkthrough (same content as the interactive steps)
- Histone core / octamer
- H2A · H2B · H3 · H4
- Wrapped DNA
- Linker DNA
- Linker histone H1
Guided steps (text)
- Step 1: Histone core / octamer
- Step 2: H2A · H2B · H3 · H4
- Step 3: Wrapped DNA
- Step 4: Linker DNA
- Step 5: Linker histone H1
How to use this explorer
- Advance with Next / Previous, the step chips, or keyboard ← →.
- On touch devices, tap chips and buttons (minimum comfortable target size).
- If you prefer reduced motion, the site respects
prefers-reduced-motionand jumps between states without animation. - Screen-reader / keyboard users: focus stays on controls; the live region announces the current step.
Scientific notes & limits
A nucleosome typically wraps ~147 bp of DNA around a histone octamer of two copies each of H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. Linker DNA connects nucleosomes; H1 associates with linker regions in many contexts. Histone tails are important for regulation and are indicated conceptually here.
Related lessons
- Nucleosome — The nucleosome is the basic repeating unit of chromatin: DNA wrapped around a histone octamer.
- Histones — Histones are the core packaging proteins of chromatin that form the nucleosome octamer.
- Chromatin — Chromatin is the DNA–protein complex that packages eukaryotic genomes and helps regulate gene access.