RNA G-quadruplexes (rG4s): Genomics and Biological Functions

Overview

Journal Nucleic Acids Res

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Biochemistry

Date 2021 Mar 27

PMID 33772593

Citations 50

Authors

Kaixin Lyu

Eugene Yui-Ching Chow

Xi Mou

Ting-Fung Chan

Chun Kit Kwok

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are non-classical DNA or RNA secondary structures that have been first observed decades ago. Over the years, these four-stranded structural motifs have been demonstrated to have significant regulatory roles in diverse biological processes, but challenges remain in detecting them globally and reliably. Compared to DNA G4s (dG4s), the study of RNA G4s (rG4s) has received less attention until recently. In this review, we will summarize the innovative high-throughput methods recently developed to detect rG4s on a transcriptome-wide scale, highlight the many novel and important functions of rG4 being discovered in vivo across the tree of life, and discuss the key biological questions to be addressed in the near future.

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