Quartets in G‐major

Abstract

The First International Meeting on Quadruplex DNA took place between 21 and 24 April 2007, in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The meeting followed two regional workshops (pan‐Pacific and European) in Hawai (2005) and Slovenia (2006), and was organized by J. Chaires and L. Hurley. ![][1] The conference literally started with a bang! The meeting brought together around 110 scientists from all over the world to present their most recent data on quadruplex DNA, and the opening reception coincided with Thunder Over Louisville , a massive fireworks display marking the start of the Kentucky Derby Festival. The focus of the conference was the family of nucleic acid secondary structures known as guanine (G)‐quadruplexes. These can be formed by certain guanine‐rich sequences in the presence of monovalent cations and are stabilized by G‐quartets (Fig 1). Interest in this area has intensified in recent years because G‐quadruplex structures have roles in crucial biological processes and can be targeted for therapeutic intervention (Maizels, 2006; Neidle & Balasubramanian, 2006; Riou, 2004). G‐quadruplexes might also have applications in areas ranging from supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology to medicinal chemistry (Alberti et al , 2006; Davis, 2004; Petraccone et al , 2005). The aim of this meeting was to assess the current status of this unusual DNA structure, which was discovered more than 40 years ago by our plenary lecturer, D. Davies (Bethesda, MD, USA), and his colleagues (Gellert et al , 1962). The meeting also coincided with the tenth anniversary of a seminal paper that catalysed much interest in the field and laid the foundations for therapeutic possibilities (Sun et al , 1997). Here, we summarize a few of the highlights from the broad range of topics discussed. Figure 1. The quadruplex. (A) A tetrameric, dimeric and monomeric G‐quadruplex composed of three G‐quartets (top). (B) A schematic model of DNA secondary … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif