Chromatin remodeling enzymes act to dynamically regulate gene accessibility. In many cases, these enzymes function as large multicomponent complexes that in general comprise a central ATP-dependent Snf2 family helicase that is decorated with a variable number of regulatory subunits. The nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD) complex, which is essential for normal development in higher organisms, is one such macromolecular machine. The NuRD complex comprises ϳ10 subunits, including the histone deacetylases 1 and 2 (HDAC1 and HDAC2), and is defined by the presence of a CHD family remodeling enzyme, most commonly CHD4 (chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 4). The existing paradigm holds that CHD4 acts as the central hub upon which the complex is built. We show here that this paradigm does not, in fact, hold and that CHD4 is a peripheral component of the NuRD complex. A complex lacking CHD4 that has HDAC activity can exist as a stable species. The addition of recombinant CHD4 to this nucleosome deacetylase complex reconstitutes a NuRD complex with nucleosome remodeling activity. These data contribute to our understanding of the architecture of the NuRD complex.Nucleosomes effectively act as a roadblock to all aspects of genome biology. ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling enzymes solve this problem by using ATP-derived energy to alter the positions, occupancy and composition of nucleosomes. All remodelers possess a highly related ATPase motor domain from the helicase family and are classified into four subfamilies (INO80, ISWI, SWR1, and CHD) based on sequence similarity (1). Each subfamily is represented in nearly all eukaryotes, suggesting that they catalyze different remodeling events. For example, ISWI proteins reposition (or slide) nucleosomes to create regularly spaced arrays; this periodic organization is a key characteristic of DNA at the start of genes (2). SWR1 and INO80 enzymes have opposing roles in histone variant dynamics; the former incorporates these histone variants (e.g. H2A.Z), whereas the latter removes them. These variants set up specific chromatin structures that modulate transcription and replication, although the roles of many variants are still under debate (3). Fundamentally, these remodeling enzymes all alter the accessibility of DNA to other DNA-binding factors and thereby broadly underpin genome biology.Remodelers frequently act in the context of large multisubunit complexes, and in general, the "mixing and matching" of complex composition can generate complexes with varying activities; the human ISWI protein Snf2h for instance has been identified in six distinct complexes (4). Likewise, the accessory subunits can also modulate remodeler activity. For example, the paralogous methyl-CpG-binding domain proteins 2 and 3 (MBD2 and MBD3) subunits of the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD) 6 complex are mutually exclusive (5); MBD2 recognizes 5-methylcytosine-modified DNA, whereas MBD3 instead binds to 5-hydroxymethylated DNA (6, 7). Unsurprisingly, it has been observed tha...