Oxytricha telomere-binding protein: DNA-dependent dimerization of the alpha and beta subunits

A study of the DNA-dependent dimerization of the alpha and beta subunits of an Oxytricha nova, telomere-binding protein, used glycerol gradient sedimentation and chemical cross-linking to analyze subunit interactions. Both subunits exist primarily as monomers in the absence of telomeric DNA, when incubated together, and interact directly with one another to develop a heterodimer, upon binding to DNA. This DNA-dependent dimerization is involved in chromosome mapping as part of the heterodimer and may permit every subunit to execute unique operations as a monomer.