H2A.Bbd is an unusual histone variant whose sequence is only 48% conserved compared to major H2A. The major sequence differences are in the docking domain that tethers the H2A–H2B dimer to the (H3–H4)2 tetramer; in addition, the C-terminal tail is absent in H2A.Bbd. We assembled nucleosomes in which H2A is replaced by H2A.Bbd (Bbd-NCP), and found that Bbd-NCP had a more relaxed structure in which only 1182 bp of DNA is protected against digestion