Molecular basis of global promoter sensing and nucleosome capture by the SWR1 chromatin remodeler

Carl Wu and Louder RK, Park G, Ye Z, Cha JS, Gardner AM, Lei Q, Ranjan A, Höllmüller E, Stengel F, Pugh BF | Cell, 2024 

The SWR1 chromatin remodeling complex is recruited to +1 nucleosomes downstream of transcription start sites of eukaryotic promoters, where it exchanges histone H2A for the specialized variant H2A.Z. Here, we use cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) to resolve the structural basis of the SWR1 interaction with free DNA, revealing a distinct open conformation of the Swr1 ATPase that enables sliding from accessible DNA to nucleosomes.