The story of the non-duplex DNA form known as the G-quadruplex (G4) has traversed a winding path. From initial skepticism followed by debate to a surge in interest, the G4 story intertwines many threads. Starting with computational predictions of a gene regulatory role, which now include epigenetic functions, our group was involved in many of these advances along with many other laboratories. Following a brief background, set in the latter half of the last century when the concept of the G4 as a structure took ground, here we account the developments. This is through a lens that though focused on our groups’ research presents work from many other groups that played significant roles. Together these provide a broad perspective to the G4 story. Initially we were intrigued on seeing potential G4 (pG4)-forming sequences, then known to be found primarily at the telomeres and immunoglobin switch regions, occurring throughout the genome and being particularly prevalent in promoters of bacteria. We further observed that pG4s were not only prevalent but also conserved through evolution in promoters of human, chimpanzee, mouse and rat genomes. This was between 2005 and 2007. Encouraged by these partly and partly in response to the view held by many that genome-wide presence of G4s were genomic “accidents”, the focus shifted to seeking experimental evidence.

中文翻译：

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非双链 G-四链 DNA 结构：从预测序列到 DNA 结构依赖性表观遗传学及其他发展的故事

被称为 G-四链体 (G4) 的非双链 DNA 形式的故事走过了曲折的道路。从最初的怀疑和辩论到兴趣激增，G4 的故事交织了许多线索。从基因调控作用的计算预测开始，现在包括表观遗传功能，我们小组与许多其他实验室一起参与了许多这些进展。继上世纪下半叶 G4 作为一种结构的概念确立时的简要背景之后，我们在此介绍发展情况。这是通过一个镜头，虽然专注于我们小组的研究，但展示了许多其他发挥重要作用的小组的工作。这些共同为 G4 的故事提供了广阔的视角。最初我们对看到潜在的 G4 (pG4) 形成序列很感兴趣，然后已知主要存在于端粒和免疫球蛋白转换区域，存在于整个基因组中，并且在细菌的启动子中特别普遍。我们进一步观察到，pG4 不仅普遍存在，而且在人类、黑猩猩、小鼠和大鼠基因组的启动子中通过进化得到了保守。这是在 2005 年至 2007 年之间。部分地或部分地响应了许多人认为全基因组存在 G4 是基因组“事故”的观点，受这些鼓舞，重点转向寻找实验证据。