The Chromodomain-Helicase DNA-binding 1 is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the CHD1 gene. CHD1 is a chromatin remodeling protein that is widely conserved across many eukaryotic organisms, from yeast to humans. CHD1 is named for three of its protein domains: two tandem chromodomains, its ATPase catalytic domain, and its DNA-binding domain (Figure 1).
The CHD1 remodeler binds nucleosomes and induces local changes in nucleosome positioning through ATP hydrolysis coupled to DNA translocation of the DNA across the histone proteins. The catalytic domain of CHD1, which is highly conserved across all nucleosome remodelers, is a two-lobed structure. CHD1 relies on the DNA-binding domain, which binds DNA in a sequence non-specific manner, to help regulate spacing.
CHD1 is a member of a large family of CHD nucleosome remodelers, though yeast has only one CHD protein, called Chd1. Humans and mice, by contrast, have ten CHD proteins that are homologous to CHD1, but each have their own characteristic functions.
