The primary structure of nuclear factor-I (CTF/NF-I), a eukaryotic regulatory DNA-binding protein involved in both DNA replication and gene transcription, and the secondary structure predictable from it, are compared here with those of a number of prokaryotic acetylases. Hydropathy and Chou-Fasman analyses reveal that the polypeptide chain of CTF/NF-I is likely to fold to higher order structures similar to those of the acetylases, and significant conservation of functionally important regions of the acetylases is observed in CTF/NF-I. It is therefore suggested that CTF/NF-I may function as a histone acetylase.
