Histones are basic nuclear proteins responsible for nucleosome structure of the chromosomal fiber in eukaryotes. Two molecules of each of the four core histones (H2A; H2B; H3; and H4) form an octamer; around which approximately 146 bp of DNA is wrapped in repeating units; called nucleosomes. The linker histone; H1; interacts with linker DNA between nucleosomes and functions in the compaction of chromatin into higher order structures. This gene is intronless and encodes a replication-dependent histone that is a member of the histone H1 family. Transcripts from this gene lack polyA tails but instead contain a palindromic termination element. This gene is found in the large histone gene cluster on chromosome 6. [provided by RefSeq; Aug 2015]