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An intramolecular G-quadruplex structure is required for binding of telomeric repeat-containing RNA to the telomeric protein TRF2.

Abstract:
Telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) is important for telomere regulation, but the structural basis for how TERRA localizes to chromosome ends is unknown. Here we report on studies exploring whether the TERRA G-quadruplex structure is critical for binding to telomeres. We demonstrate that the telomeric protein TRF2 binds TERRA via interactions that necessitate the formation of a G-quadruplex structure rather than the TERRA sequence per se. We also show that TRF2 simultaneously binds TERRA and telomeric duplex or G-quadruplex DNA. These observations suggest that the TERRA G-quadruplex is a key feature of telomere organization.
Authors:
G Biffi, D Tannahill, S Balasubramanian
Journal:
J Am Chem Soc
Citation info:
134(29):11974-11976
Publication date:
25th Jul 2012
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DOI