G-quadruplexes and helicases. Issue 5 (15th February 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mendoza, Oscar; Bourdoncle, Anne; Boulé, Jean-Baptiste; Brosh, Robert M.; Mergny, Jean-Louis
• Is Part Of: Nucleic acids research. Volume 44:Issue 5(2016)
• Page Start: 1989
• Page End: 2006
• Publication Date: 2016-02-15
• Subjects: Nucleic acids -- Periodicals; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; 572.805
• DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw079
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-1048

Abstract

Abstract: Guanine-rich DNA strands can fold in vitro into non-canonical DNA structures called G-quadruplexes. These structures may be very stable under physiological conditions. Evidence suggests that G-quadruplex structures may act as 'knots' within genomic DNA, and it has been hypothesized that proteins may have evolved to remove these structures. The first indication of how G-quadruplex structures could be unfolded enzymatically came in the late 1990s with reports that some well-known duplex DNA helicases resolved these structures in vitro . Since then, the number of studies reporting G-quadruplex DNA unfolding by helicase enzymes has rapidly increased. The present review aims to present a general overview of the helicase/G-quadruplex field.