Most cited article - PubMed ID 9336200
Guanine tetraplex formation by short DNA fragments containing runs of guanine and cytosine
Guanine quadruplex (GQ) is a noncanonical nucleic acid structure formed by guanine-rich DNA and RNA sequences. Folding of GQs is a complex process, where several aspects remain elusive, despite being important for understanding structure formation and biological functions of GQs. Pulling experiments are a common tool for acquiring insights into the folding landscape of GQs. Herein, we applied a computational pulling strategy─steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations─in combination with standard molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the unfolding landscapes of tetrameric parallel GQs. We identified anisotropic properties of elastic conformational changes, unfolding transitions, and GQ mechanical stabilities. Using a special set of structural parameters, we found that the vertical component of pulling force (perpendicular to the average G-quartet plane) plays a significant role in disrupting GQ structures and weakening their mechanical stabilities. We demonstrated that the magnitude of the vertical force component depends on the pulling anchor positions and the number of G-quartets. Typical unfolding transitions for tetrameric parallel GQs involve base unzipping, opening of the G-stem, strand slippage, and rotation to cross-like structures. The unzipping was detected as the first and dominant unfolding event, and it usually started at the 3'-end. Furthermore, results from both SMD and standard MD simulations indicate that partial spiral conformations serve as a transient ensemble during the (un)folding of GQs.
- MeSH
- Biomechanical Phenomena MeSH
- DNA chemistry MeSH
- G-Quadruplexes * MeSH
- Mechanical Phenomena MeSH
- Molecular Dynamics Simulation * MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Names of Substances
- DNA MeSH
Using circular dichroism spectroscopy, UV absorption spectroscopy and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, we studied conformational properties of guanine-rich DNA strands of the fragile X chromosome repeats d(GGC)n, d(GCG)n and d(CGG)n, with n = 2, 4, 8 and 16. These strands are generally considered in the literature to form guanine tetraplexes responsible for the repeat expansion. However, we show in this paper that the repeats are reluctant to form tetraplexes. At physiological concentrations of either Na+ or K+ ions, the hexamers and dodecamers associate to form homoduplexes and the longer repeats generate homoduplexes and hairpins. The tetraplexes are rarely observed being relatively most stable with d(GGC)n and least stable with d(GCG)n. The tetraplexes are exclusively formed in the presence of K+ ions, at salt concentrations higher than physiological, more easily at higher than physiological temperatures, and they arise with extremely long kinetics (even days). Moreover, the capability to form tetraplexes sharply diminishes with the oligonucleotide length. These facts make the concept of the tetraplex appearance in this motif in vivo very improbable. Rather, a hairpin of the fragile X repeats, whose stability increases with the repeat length, is the probable structure responsible for the repeat expansion in genomes.
- MeSH
- Circular Dichroism MeSH
- DNA chemistry drug effects genetics metabolism MeSH
- Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel MeSH
- G-Quadruplexes MeSH
- Guanine metabolism MeSH
- Kinetics MeSH
- Nucleic Acid Conformation * drug effects MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Chromosomes, Human, X genetics MeSH
- Oligodeoxyribonucleotides chemistry genetics metabolism MeSH
- Osmolar Concentration MeSH
- Base Sequence MeSH
- Salts pharmacology MeSH
- Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet MeSH
- Fragile X Syndrome genetics MeSH
- Thermodynamics MeSH
- Trinucleotide Repeats genetics MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Names of Substances
- DNA MeSH
- Guanine MeSH
- Oligodeoxyribonucleotides MeSH
- Salts MeSH
We studied DNA dodecamers (CAG)4, (CCG)4, (CGG)4 and (CTG)4by CD spectroscopy and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Each dodecamer adopted several ordered conformers which denatured in a cooperative way. Stability of the conformers depended on the dodecamer concentration, ionic strength, temperature and pH. The dodecamers, having a pyrimidine base in the triplet center, generated foldbacks at low ionic strength whose stem conformations were governed by the GC pairs. At high salt, (CCG)4 isomerized into a peculiar association of two strands. The association was also promoted by high oligonucleotide concentrations. No similar behavior was exhibited by (CTG)4. At low salt, (CGG)4 coexisted in two bimolecular conformers whose populations were strongly dependent on the ionic strength. In addition, (CGG)4 associated into a tetraplex at acidic pH. A tetraplex was even observed at neutral pH if the (CGG)4 concentration was sufficiently high. (CAG)4 was very stable in a monomolecular conformer similar to the known extremely stable foldback of the (GCGAAGC) heptamer. Nevertheless, even this very stable conformer disappeared if (CTG)4 was added to the solution of (CAG)4. Association of the complementary strands was also strongly preferred to the particular strand conformations by the other couple, (CCG)4 and (CGG)4.
