Guanine base stacking in G-quadruplex nucleic acids.

ABSTRACT: G-quadruplexes constitute a class of nucleic acid structures defined by stacked guanine tetrads (or G-tetrads) with guanine bases from neighboring tetrads stacking with one another within the G-tetrad core. Individual G-quadruplexes can also stack with one another at their G-tetrad interface leading to higher-order structures as observed in telomeric repeat-containing DNA and RNA. In this study, we investigate how guanine base stacking influences the stability of G-quadruplexes and their stacked higher-order structures. A structural survey of the Protein Data Bank is conducted to characterize experimentally observed guanine base stacking geometries within the core of G-quadruplexes and at the interface between stacked G-quadruplex structures. We couple this survey with a systematic computa

SUBMITTER: Lech CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3561957 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature