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. 1990 Oct 25;18(20):6057–6060. doi: 10.1093/nar/18.20.6057

The stability of polypurine tetraplexes in the presence of mono- and divalent cations.

J S Lee 1
PMCID: PMC332405  PMID: 2235488

Abstract

As with other guanine-rich sequences, poly[d(GGA)], poly[d(GA)] and poly[d(GAA)] probably form four-stranded or tetraplex structures. Thermal denaturation profiles were measured for these polymers at pH8 in the presence of Na+, NH4+, K+, Cs+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and Ba2+. For poly[d(GA)], Na+, NH4+, K+ stabilize the tetraplex to similar extents and the Tm increases with increasing ionic strength. In contrast the Tms with Mg2+, Ca2+ and Ba2+ are significantly different and reach maxima at about 5mM of cation. The tetraplex from poly [d(GAA)] behaves in a similar manner. Thermal denaturation profiles for poly[d(GGA)] yield transitions whose hyperchromicity depends both on the concentration and nature of the ion. A reversible cooperative transition is not observed at concentrations greater than 0.15M K+, 1mM Ca2+ or 0.3 mM Ba2+ and hysteresis is evident at some concentrations. These results are consistent with the idea that K+ and ions of a similar size can form a coordination complex with the 6-Keto group of eight guanines (G8-DNA). Unlike the tetraplex polymer this G8-DNA does not melt cooperatively.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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