title: c-di-GMP displays a monovalent metal ion-dependent polymorphism.
abstract: Cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) is known to be an important signaling molecule that regulates the formation of bacterial biofilms. We demonstrate here by UV, CD, and NMR that it displays a surprising polymorphism that varies with the monovalent counterion and is consistent with the formation of a G-quartet structure in K+ and a stacked structure in Li+ or Na+. The ability of this rigid molecule to adopt different alignments may be important to its biological role.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, 610 Taylor Road, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Zhaoying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Barbara L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Gaffney
authors.forename: Roger A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D002414:Cations, Monovalent; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry*; D008672:Metals, Alkali / Q000737:chemistry*; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D002414:Cations, Monovalent; D008672:Metals, Alkali; C062025:bis(3',5')-cyclic diguanylic acid; D006152:Cyclic GMP