Topological effects of charge transfer in telomere G-quadruplex: Mechanism on telomerase activation and inhibition

TL;DR

This study theoretically investigates charge transfer in telomere G-quadruplex DNA, revealing how topological structures influence charge transport and potentially regulate telomerase activity, with implications for understanding telomere biology.

Contribution

It uncovers the topological effects on charge transfer in TG4 DNA and links structural transitions to changes in charge current, providing new insights into telomerase regulation mechanisms.

Findings

Consecutive TG4 is semiconducting with a 0.2-0.3 eV energy gap.

Charge transfer favors consecutive TG4 but is trapped in non-consecutive TG4.

Structural transition from NCTG4 to CTG4 causes a ~3nA charge current jump.

Abstract

We explore charge transfer in the telomere G-Quadruplex (TG4) DNA theoretically by the nonequilibrium Green's function method, and reveal the topological effect of charge transport in TG4 DNA. The consecutive TG4(CTG4) is semiconducting with 0.2 ~ 0.3eV energy gap. Charges transfers favorably in the consecutive TG4, but are trapped in the non-consecutive TG4 (NCTG4). The global conductance is inversely proportional to the local conductance for NCTG4. The topological structure transition from NCTG4 to CTG4 induces abruptly ~ 3nA charge current, which provide a microscopic clue to understand the telomerase activated or inhibited by TG4. Our findings reveal the fundamental property of charge transfer in TG4 and its relationship with the topological structure of TG4.