G-DNA is a polymorphic family of quadruple helical nucleic acid structures containing guanine tetrad motifs [G-quartets; Williamson, J.R., Raghuraman, M.K. and Cech, T.R. (1989) Cell 59, 871-880; Williamson, J.R. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90, 3124-3124]. Guanine rich oligonucleotides that are self-complimentary, as found in many telomeric G-strand repeat sequences, form G-DNA in the presence of monovalent and/or divalent metal cations. In this report we use the atomic force microscope (AFM) to explore the structural characteristics of long, linear polymers formed by the telomeric oligonucleotide d(GGGGTTGGGG) in the presence of specific metal cations. In the AFM these polymers, termed G-wires, appear as filaments whose height and length are determined by the metal ions present during the self-assembly process. The highly ordered, controllable self-assembly of G-wires could provide a basis for developing advanced biomaterials.
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机译：G-DNA是包含鸟嘌呤四联基序的四重螺旋核酸结构的多态家族。 J.R. Williamson，Mr.Raghuraman和T.R. Cech （1989）Cell 59，871-880；和Williamson，J.R.（1993）Proc。 Natl。学院科学美国90，3124-3124]。在许多端粒G链重复序列中发现的自我互补的富含鸟嘌呤的寡核苷酸在单价和/或二价金属阳离子存在下形成G-DNA。在本报告中，我们使用原子力显微镜（AFM）探索端粒寡核苷酸d（GGGGTTGGGG）在特定金属阳离子存在下形成的长而线性的聚合物的结构特征。在AFM中，这些聚合物称为G线，表现为细丝，其高度和长度由自组装过程中存在的金属离子决定。 G线的高度有序，可控的自组装可为开发高级生物材料提供基础。
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