Parallel reaction pathways accelerate folding of a guanine quadruplex.

ABSTRACT: G-quadruplexes (G4s) are four-stranded, guanine-rich nucleic acid structures that can influence a variety of biological processes such as the transcription and translation of genes and DNA replication. In many cases, a single G4-forming nucleic acid sequence can adopt multiple different folded conformations that interconvert on biologically relevant timescales, entropically stabilizing the folded state. The coexistence of different folded conformations also suggests that there are multiple pathways leading from the unfolded to the folded state ensembles, potentially modulating the folding rate and biological activity. We have developed an experimental method for quantifying the contributions of individual pathways to the folding of conformationally heterogeneous G4s that is based on mutage

SUBMITTER: Harkness RW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7897495 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature