title: Unraveling secrets of telomeres: one molecule at a time.
abstract: Telomeres play important roles in maintaining the stability of linear chromosomes. Telomere maintenance involves dynamic actions of multiple proteins interacting with long repetitive sequences and complex dynamic DNA structures, such as G-quadruplexes, T-loops and t-circles. Given the heterogeneity and complexity of telomeres, single-molecule approaches are essential to fully understand the structure-function relationships that govern telomere maintenance. In this review, we present a brief overview of the principles of single-molecule imaging and manipulation techniques. We then highlight results obtained from applying these single-molecule techniques for studying structure, dynamics and functions of G-quadruplexes, telomerase, and shelterin proteins.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
authors.forename: Jiangguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
authors.forename: Parminder
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
authors.forename: Preston
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Countryman
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Opresko
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. Electronic address: hong_wang@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D052898:Optical Tweezers; D016615:Telomere / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D034501:Telomere-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D034501:Telomere-Binding Proteins
keywords: Atomic force microscopy; FRET; Fluorescence microscopy; Laser tweezers; Magnetic tweezers; Protein–DNA interactions; Single-molecule imaging; Telomeres