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Tetramerization of an RNA oligonucleotide containing a GGGG sequence

Abstract

POLY rG can form four-stranded helices1. The Hoogsteen-paired quartets of C residues on which such structures depend are so stable that they will form in 5'-GMP solutions, provided that Na+ or K+ are present (see for example, refs 2–4). Telomeric DNA sequences, which are G-rich, adopt four-stranded antiparallel G-quartet conformations in vitro5,6, and parallel tetramerization of G-rich sequences may be involved in meiosis7,8. Here we show that RNAs containing short runs of Gs can also tetramerize. A 19-base oligonucleotide derived from the 5S RNA of Escherichia coli (strand III), 5'GCCGAUGGUAGUGUGGGGU3', forms a K+-stabilized tetrameric aggregate that depends on the G residues at its 3' end. This complex is so stable that it would be surprising if similar structures do not occur in nature.

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Kim, J., Cheong, C. & Moore, P. Tetramerization of an RNA oligonucleotide containing a GGGG sequence. Nature 351, 331–332 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/351331a0

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