I-motif DNA I-motif DNA i-motif DNA is a type of deoxyribonucleic acid, discovered in 2018, that is found in the nuclei of human cells. An abbreviation of intercalated motif, the four-strand i-motif is unlike the iconic double helix DNA. I-motifs are four-stranded quadruplex structures formed by cytosine-rich DNA, similar to the G-quadruplex structures that guanine-rich DNA forms. C-rich DNA regions are common in gene regulation portions of the genome. Recently, i-motifs were discovered in human cells and were shown to play a role in cell reproduction. I-motifs have potential applications in nanotechnology and nanomedicine due to their unique pH sensitivity and have
Eukaryotic DNA replication formation of single-stranded DNA occurs frequently, more often during replication stress. ATR-ATRIP is able to arrest the cell cycle to preserve genome integrity. ATR is found on chromatin during S phase, similar to RPA and claspin. The generation of single-stranded DNA tracts is important in initiating the checkpoint pathways downstream of replication damage. Once single-stranded DNA becomes sufficiently long, single-stranded DNA coated with RPA are able to recruit ATR-ATRIP. In order to become fully active, the ATR kinase rely on sensor proteins that sense whether the checkpoint proteins are localized to a valid site of DNA replication stress. The RAD9-HUS1-Rad1