Nucleic acids display a range of structural variations beyond the basic helical shape and Watson-Crick hydrogen bond pairing. Some of these structural variations are nuanced, while others result in a vastly different spatial conformation. We will discuss the structural details of single-, double-, triple- and quadruple-stranded nucleic acids and how structural variation translates into functional diversity. What can in vitro biophysical methods reveal about the nucleic acid structure, how can we correlate findings from diverse methods, and when is this approach suitable and when not? Insights into these and related questions will be provided using adenine-rich DNA systems, AT/GC repeat regions, PNA-RNA complexes and 3' untranslated regions of mRNA.
Theoretical Biophysics and Soft Matter Group