Histones are basic nuclear proteins that are responsible for the nucleosome structure of the chromosomal fiber in eukaryotes. Nucleosomes consist of approximately 146 bp of DNA wrapped around a histone octamer composed of pairs of each of the four core histones (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4). The chromatin fiber is further compacted through the interaction of a linker histone, H1, with the DNA between the nucleosomes to form higher order chromatin structures. This gene encodes a member of the histone H2A family. It replaces conventional H2A histones in a subset of nucleosomes where it represses transcription and participates in stable X chromosome inactivation. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]