Overview of Formation of G‐Quadruplex Structures

Abstract There are many structures that can be adopted by nucleic acids other than the Watson‐Crick duplex. In particular, a noncanonical four‐stranded topology, called a G‐quadruplex, is of great interest because of its roles in key biological processes such as the maintenance of telomeres and regulation of gene transcription. This review describes the condition for forming the G‐quadruplex structure, G‐quadruplex‐forming sequences, and methods for studying the structures. Curr. Protoc. Nucleic Acid Chem . 40:17.2.1‐17.2.17. © 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.