STRUCTURE AND STABILITY OF AN OLIGONUCLEOTIDE CONTAINING 2'-DEOXY-6-THIOGUANOSINE

Structure and stability of the self-complementary octamers d(AAACGTTT) and d(AAACs(6)GTTT) have been evaluated by one and two-dimensional NM R and UV techniques. Temperature dependence studies by NMR and UV indi cate the presence of 2'-deoxy-6-thioguanosine (ds(6)G) acts to destabi lize duplex formation in the octamer by about 10 to 15 degrees C. Comp arison of octamers indicate the presence of ds(6)G octamer acts to ind uce structural perturbations that are not localized to the central dC- ds(6)G base pairs but affect the overall structure of the entire octam er.