Abstract Chromocenters in mouse cells are membrane-less nuclear compartments representing typical heterochromatin stably maintained during cell cycle. We explore how histone H3 variants, replicative H3.1/2 or replacement H3.3, mark these domains during the cell cycle in mouse embryonic stem cells, neuronal precursor cells as well as immortalized 3T3 cells. We find a strong and distinct H3.1 enrichment at chromocenters, with variation in mouse embryonic stem cells.
