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G-Quadruplex and Protein Binding by Single-Molecule FRET Microscopy

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G-Quadruplex Nucleic Acids

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2035))

Abstract

G-quadruplex (G4) is a non-canonical nucleic acid structure that arises from the stacking of planar G-tetrads, stabilized by monovalent cations. G4 forming sequences exist throughout the genome and G4 structures are shown to be involved in many processes including DNA replication and gene expression. The single-molecule total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy has been employed to study G4 structure formation and protein binding interactions. Here, we describe methods by which we tested the folding and unfolding of G-quadruplexes structure and studied the dynamics of its interaction with POT1 protein. The methods presented here can be applied to study other putative G4 sequences and potential binding partners.

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Acknowledgments

Most of the data was taken and analyzed by our alumni, Helen Hwang. We thank the members of the Sua Myong and Taekjip Ha Laboratory for their input.

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Correspondence to Sua Myong .

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Lee, CY., McNerney, C., Myong, S. (2019). G-Quadruplex and Protein Binding by Single-Molecule FRET Microscopy. In: Yang, D., Lin, C. (eds) G-Quadruplex Nucleic Acids. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2035. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9666-7_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9666-7_18

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9665-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9666-7

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