The tight wrapping of DNA around histones, is to a large degree, a result of electrostatic attraction between the positively charged histones and negatively charged phosphate backbone of DNA. Histones may be chemically modified through the action of enzymes to regulate gene transcription.

Each chromosome contains a long molecule of DNA, which must fit into the cell nucleus. To do that, the DNA wraps around complexes of histone proteins, giving the chromosome a more compact shape. Histones also play a role in the regulation of gene expression.

Chromosomes have a structure that is like a thread. Chromosome proteins (histones) wrap up DNA like a spool to make it small enough to fit into your cells. If chromosomes didn’t wrap around DNA, your DNA would be 6 feet long from end to end.

Histones play a critical role in the structural organization and regulation of DNA within the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. DNA winds around groups of histones, helping to organize it into a compact structure known as chromatin.

Histones are proteins that condense and structure the DNA of eukaryotic cell nuclei into units called nucleosomes. Their main functions are to compact DNA and regulate chromatin, therefore impacting gene regulation.