Mitchell J E, Newbury S F, McClellan J A
Biophysics Laboratories, University of Portsmouth, UK.
Nucleic Acids Res. 1995 Jun 11;23(11):1876-81. doi: 10.1093/nar/23.11.1876.
We show that oligonucleotides of CNG tracts readily adopt compact DNA structures that move unusually fast on gels. Base composition does not explain this, and non-CNG triplets (including GNC) do not form such structures. Chemical probing and melting experiments suggest that the structures probably are not hairpins. Although both long and short tracts can adopt compact structures, the structure formed by longer tracts is more compact than that formed by shorter ones. We note the possibility that such structures may form in vivo, and be instrumental in normal and/or abnormal function of human genes.
我们发现,富含CNG的寡核苷酸很容易形成紧密的DNA结构,这些结构在凝胶上移动异常迅速。碱基组成无法解释这一现象,非CNG三联体(包括GNC)不会形成此类结构。化学探针和熔解实验表明,这些结构可能不是发夹结构。尽管长链和短链都能形成紧密结构,但长链形成的结构比短链形成的结构更紧密。我们注意到,此类结构可能在体内形成,并对人类基因的正常和/或异常功能起作用。