Tetramerization of an RNA oligonucleotide containing a GGGG sequence.
Poly rG can form four-stranded helices. The Hoogsteen-paired quartets of G 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 vitro, and parallel tetramerization of G-rich sequences may be involved in meiosis. 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.
Kim
J
J
Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511.
Cheong
C
C
Moore
P B
PB
D001483:Base Sequence; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D006147:Guanine; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011068:Poly G / Q000737:chemistry*; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D012341:RNA, Ribosomal, 5S / Q000235:genetics
D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D012341:RNA, Ribosomal, 5S; D011068:Poly G; D006147:Guanine; D012313:RNA