title: Conformational properties of DNA dodecamers containing four tandem repeats of the CNG triplets.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophysics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Královopolská 135, CZ-612 65 Brno, Czech Republic. mifi@ibp.cz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vorlícková
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zimulová
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kovanda
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fojtík
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kypr
mesh_terms: D002942:Circular Dichroism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D018911:Trinucleotide Repeats
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride