Abstract
MULTISTRANDED DNA structures based upon guanine association have been proposed to be important in the structure of chromosome telomeres1 and in immunoglobulin class switching2. Nucleic acids containing runs of guanine bases form a number of structures in vitro3–6, including fold-back structures (Fig. la)7–9 and parallel-stranded quadruplex structures in DNA2,10 and RNA11. The features of fold-back structures have now been determined at high-resolution12–14. The different structures are probably based on a tetrad of hydrogen-bonded guanine bases (Fig. 1b), with buffer conditions and sequence effects mediating isomerization between the different forms4,15–18. Here we use NMR spectroscopy to investigate the solution structure of the complex formed by the hexadeoxynucleotide d(TG4T) in the presence of sodium ions. We have observed the formation of a parallel-stranded quadruplex containing hydrogen-bonded tetrads of guanine. The parallel-stranded form differs significantly from the fold-back form, with individual nucleotide conformations being closer to those of B-form DNA.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blackburn, E. H. Nature 350, 569–573 (1991).
Sen, D. & Gilbert, W. Nature 334, 364–366 (1988).
Henderson, E., Hardin, C. C., Wolk, S. K., Tinoco, I. Jr & Blackburn, E. Cell 51, 899–908 (1987).
Oka, Y. & Thomas, C. A. Nucleic Acids Res. 15, 8877–8898 (1987).
Guschlbauer, W., Chantot, J-F. & Thiele, D. J. biomolec. struc. Dynam. 8, 491–512 (1990).
Sundquist, W. I. in Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology (eds Eckstein, F. & Lilley, D. M. J.) 1–24 (Springer, Berlin and Heidelberg, 1991).
Williamson, J. R., Raghuraman, M. K. & Cech, T. R. Cell 59, 871–880 (1989).
Henderson, E. R., Moore, M. & Malcolm, B. A. Biochemistry 29, 732–737 (1990).
Sundquist, W. I. & Klug, A. Nature 342, 825–829 (1989).
Murchie, A. I. H. & Lilley, D. M. J. Nucleic Acids Res. 20, 49–53 (1992).
Kim, J., Cheong, C. & Moore, P. B. Nature 351, 331–332 (1991).
Wang, Y. et al. J. molec. Biol. 222, 819–832 (1991).
Kang, C., Zhang, X., Ratliff, R., Moyzis, R. & Rich, A. Nature 356, 126–131 (1992).
Smith, F. W. & Feigon, J. Nature 356, 164–168 (1992).
Sen, D. & Gilbert, W. Nature 344, 410–414 (1990).
Hardin, C. C., Henderson, E., Watson, T. & Prosser, J. K. Biochemistry 30, 4460–4472 (1991).
Hardin, C. C., Watson, T., Corregan, M. & Bailey, C. Biochemistry 31, 833–841 (1992).
Lu, M., Quo, Q. & Kallenbach, N. R. Biochemistry 31, 2455–2459 (1992).
Hare, D. R. et al. J. molec. Biol. 171, 319–336 (1983).
Wüthrich, K. NMR of Proteins and Nucleic Acids (Wiley, New York, 1986).
Pinnavaia, T. J., Miles, H. T. & Becker, E. D. J. Am. chem. Soc. 97, 7198–7200 (1975).
Rinkel, L. J. & Altona, C. J. biomolec. struc. Dynam. 4, 621–644 (1987).
Forster, M., Jones, C. & Mulloy, B. J. molec. Graph. 7, 196–201 (1989).
Gellert, M., Lipsett, M. N. & Davies, D. R. P. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 48, 2013–2018 (1962).
Sklenar, V., Miyashiro, H., Zon, G., Miles, H. T. & Bax, A. FEBS Lett. 208, 94–98 (1986).
Boelens, R., Scheek, R. M., Djikstra, K. & Kaptein, R. J. mag. Res. 62, 378–386 (1985).
Fazakerly, G. V., van der Marel, G. A., van Boom, J. H. & Guschlbauer, W. Nucleic Acids Res. 12, 8269–8279 (1984).
Oda, Y., Uesugi, S., Ikehara, M., Kawase, Y. & Ohtsuka, E. Nucleic Acids Res. 19, 5263–5267 (1991).
Li, Y., Zon, G. & Wilson, W. D. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88, 26–30 (1991).
Lane, A. N., Jenkins, T. C., Brown, D. J. & Brown, T. Biochem. J. 279, 269–281 (1991).
Ernst, R. R., Bodenhausen, G. & Wokaun, A. Principles of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in One and Two Dimensions (Clarendon, Oxford, 1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aboul-ela, F., Murchie, A. & Lilley, D. NMR study of parallel-stranded tetraplex formation by the hexadeoxynucleotide d(TG4T). Nature 360, 280–282 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/360280a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/360280a0
This article is cited by
-
Proline Might Have Been the First Amino Acid in the Primitive Genetic Code
Journal of Molecular Evolution (2014)
-
DNA nanomachines
Nature Nanotechnology (2007)
-
An investigation of the dynamics of spermine bound to duplex and quadruplex DNA by 13C NMR spectroscopy
European Biophysics Journal (2007)
-
A tetrameric DNA structure with protonated cytosine-cytosine base pairs
Nature (1993)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.