nucleosome

From nucleo- +‎ -some, and to evoke the older name nu body. Coined by P. Oudet et al. in 1975 (see quotation below).

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nucleosome

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nucleosome (plural nucleosomes)

1. (genetics) Any of the subunits that repeat in chromatin; a coil of DNA surrounding a core of eight histones.
   • 1975, P. Oudet, M. Gross-Bellard, P.Champon, “Electron Microscopic and Biochemical Evidence that Chromosome Structure Is a Repeating Unit”, in Cell, →PMID, page 9:

     We have termed these particles “nucleosomes,” to evoke their nuclear origin and their resemblance to the “nu” (ν) bodies described by Olins and Olins (1974).