Nucleic Acids Research 2007-01-01

G-quadruplex formation in human telomeric (TTAGGG)4 sequence with complementary strand in close vicinity under molecularly crowded condition.

Zhong-yuan Kan, Yi Lin, Feng Wang, Xin-ying Zhuang, Yong Zhao, Dai-wen Pang, Yu-hua Hao, Zheng Tan

Index: Nucleic Acids Res. 35 , 3646-3653, (2007)

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Abstract

Chromosomes in vertebrates are protected at both ends by telomere DNA composed of tandem (TTAGGG)n repeats. DNA replication produces a blunt-ended leading strand telomere and a lagging strand telomere carrying a single-stranded G-rich overhang at its end. The G-rich strand can form G-quadruplex structure in the presence of K+ or Na+. At present, it is not clear whether quadruplex can form in the double-stranded telomere region where the two complementary strands are constrained in close vicinity and quadruplex formation, if possible, has to compete with the formation of the conventional Watson-Crick duplex. In this work, we studied quadruplex formation in oligonucleotides and double-stranded DNA containing both the G- and C-rich sequences to better mimic the in vivo situation. Under such competitive condition only duplex was observed in dilute solution containing physiological concentration of K+. However, quadruplex could preferentially form and dominate over duplex structure under molecular crowding condition created by PEG as a result of significant quadruplex stabilization and duplex destabilization. This observation suggests quadruplex may potentially form or be induced at the blunt end of a telomere, which may present a possible alternative form of structures at telomere ends.