Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 15: DNA/RNA and related enzymes

BP 15.2: Talk

Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 12:30–12:45, H43

Intracellular Conformations of Human Telomeric Quadruplexes studied by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy — •Malte Drescher — Fachbereich Chemie, Graduiertenschule Chemische Biologie und Zukunftskolleg, Universität Konstanz

Guanosine-rich nucleic acids fold into four-stranded structures called quadruplexes. In contrast to duplex structures, quadruplexes show a high degree of polymorphism with respect to topological features. The G-rich human telomeric repeats at the end of the chromosomes have generated much interest. As a result of their potential to switch between folded and unfolded state, the formation of quadruplex structures is suspected to play important roles in telomere maintenance and cell cycle control.

G-quadruplex topologies of the human telomeric sequence were investigated exploiting long-range distance measurements by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) in combination with site-directed spin labeling.

Using novel in-cell EPR we show for the first time that the human telomeric repeat in cellula forms a mixture of co-existing parallel and antiparallel quadruplex conformations.