Nano-electrospray tandem mass spectrometric analysis of the acetylation state of histones H3 and H4 in stationary phase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Background The involvement of histone acetylation in facilitating gene expression is well-established, particularly in the case of histones H3 and H4. It was previously shown in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that gene expression was significantly down-regulated and chromatin more condensed in stationary phase compared to exponential phase. We were therefore interested in establishing the acetylation state of histone H3 and H4 in stationary and in exponential phase, since the regulation of this modification could contribute to transcriptional shut-down and chromatin compaction during semi-quiescence.