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Human telomeric C–strand tetraplexes

Nature Structural Biology volume 1, pages 83–88 (1994)Cite this article

Abstract

Telomeric C–strand sequences form non–Watson–Crick base–paired structures in supercoiled plasmids and in oligonucleotides at low pH. Here we examine oligonucleotides composed of 2 or 4 repeats of the human telomeric C–strand sequence d(CCCTAA)n. At low pH, the 2–repeat molecule forms a dimer which exhibits H1′–H1′ nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) between stacked C·C+ base pairs. These NOEs are characteristic of the i–motif, which is a tetraplex composed of two intercalated C·C+ duplexes. The 4–repeat molecule forms an intramolecular monomeric structure at low pH, suggesting that four contiguous cytosine tracts fold into a C·C+ intercalated tetraplex. These unusual structures may be relevant to the formation of guanine tetraplexes by complementary G–rich sequences. They may also provide a general mechanism for self–recognition by nucleic acids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Genetics, Iowa State University, 2112 Molecular Biology Building, Ames, Iowa, 50011, USA

    Shawn Ahmed & Eric Henderson

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011, USA

    Agustin Kintanar

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  1. Shawn Ahmed
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  2. Agustin Kintanar
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  3. Eric Henderson
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Ahmed, S., Kintanar, A. & Henderson, E. Human telomeric C–strand tetraplexes. Nat Struct Mol Biol 1, 83–88 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb0294-83

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