Solution structure of a pyrimidine.purine.pyrimidine DNA triplex containing T.AT, C+.GC and G.TA triples

Under certain conditions, homopyrimidine oligonucleotides can bind to complementary homopurine sequences in homopurine-homopyrimidine segments of duplex DNA to form triple helical structures. Besides having biological implications in vivo, this property has been exploited in molecular biology applications. This approach is limited by a lack of knowledge about the recognition by the third strand of pyrimidine residues in Watson-Crick base pairs.

We have therefore determined the solution structure of a pyrimidine.purine.pyrimidine (Y.RY) DNA triple helix containing a guanine residue in the third strand which was postulated to specifically recognize a thymine residue in a Watson-Crick TA base pair. The structure was solved by combining NMR-derived restraints with molecular dynamics simulations conducted in the presence of explicit solvent and counter ions. The guanine of the G-TA triple is tilted out of the plane of its target TA base pair towards the 3'-direction, to avoid a steric clash with the thymine methyl group. This allows the guanine amino protons to participate in hydrogen bonds with separate carbonyls, forming one strong bond within the G-TA triple and a weak bond to an adjacent T.AT triple. Dramatic variations in helical twist around the guanine residue lead to a novel stacking interaction. At the global level, the Y.RY DNA triplex shares several structural features with the recently solved solution structure of the R.RY DNA triplex.

The formation of a G.TA triple within an otherwise pyrimidine.purine.pyrimidine DNA triplex causes conformational realignments in and around the G.TA triple. These highlight new aspects of molecular recognition that could be useful in triplex-based approaches to inhibition of gene expression and site-specific cleavage of genomic DNA.