Browsing by Author "Zhang, Daoning"

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    A DNA G-quadruplex/i-motif hybrid
    (Oxford U Press, 2019-12-16) Chu, Betty; Zhang, Daoning; Paukstelis, Paul J.
    DNA can form many structures beyond the canonical Watson–Crick double helix. It is now clear that noncanonical structures are present in genomic DNA and have biological functions. G-rich G-quadruplexes and C-rich i-motifs are the most well-characterized noncanonical DNA motifs that have been detected in vivo with either proscribed or postulated biological roles. Because of their independent sequence requirements, these structures have largely been considered distinct types of quadruplexes. Here, we describe the crystal structure of the DNA oligonucleotide, d(CCAGGCTGCAA), that self-associates to form a quadruplex structure containing two central antiparallel G-tetrads and six i-motif C–C+ base pairs. Solution studies suggest a robust structural motif capable of assembling as a tetramer of individual strands or as a dimer when composed of tandem repeats. This hybrid structure highlights the growing structural diversity of DNA and suggests that biological systems may harbor many functionally important non-duplex structures.
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    An intercalation-locked parallel-stranded DNA tetraplex
    (Oxford University Press, 2015-01-27) Tripathi, Shailesh; Zhang, Daoning; Paukstelis, Paul J.
    DNA has proved to be an excellent material for nanoscale construction because complementary DNA duplexes are programmable and structurally predictable. However, in the absence of Watson– Crick pairings, DNA can be structurally more diverse. Here, we describe the crystal structures of d(ACTCGGATGAT) and the brominated derivative, d(ACBrUCGGABrUGAT). These oligonucleotides form parallel-stranded duplexes with a crystallographically equivalent strand, resulting in the first examples of DNA crystal structures that contains four different symmetric homo base pairs. Two of the parallel-stranded duplexes are coaxially stacked in opposite directions and locked together to form a tetraplex through intercalation of the 5’-most A–A base pairs between adjacent G–G pairs in the partner duplex. The intercalation region is a new type of DNA tertiary structural motif with similarities to the i-motif. 1H–1H nuclear magnetic resonance and native gel electrophoresis confirmed the formation of a parallel-stranded duplex in solution. Finally, we modified specific nucleotide positions and added d(GAY) motifs to oligonucleotides and were readily able to obtain similar crystals. This suggests that this parallel-stranded DNA structure may be useful in the rational design of DNA crystals and nanostructures.