To test this hypothesis we are constructing plasmids containing multiple adenosine tracts spaced by distances up to a thousand base pairs, and examining the phasing of reconstituted nucleosomes on the plasmid DNA compared to DNA without such tracts. Oligoguanosine tracts have been shown to have the startling ability to form quadruplex polynucleotide structures and polyguanosine has been known for decades to associate to form very strong, multistranded complexes. We hypothesize that the tracts are being used as structural elements, and are looking for evidence that bears on this. The association of oligoguanosine tracts in plasmid DNA is being examined as a function of supercoiling density. Additionally, a search is being conducted for proteins from C. elegans that bind specifically to oligoguanosine tracts.
Oligoadenosine tracts favor nucleosome formation.
Tracts of separated, alternating, and mixed adenosine and cytidine residues in the genomes of prokaryotes and eukaryotes.