We are pleased to announce that a researcher from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry PAS has been selected as a laureate in the MINIATURA 9 competition of the National Science Centre.

Funding was awarded to the project titled “Two-tetrad G-quadurplexes stabilized by Pb²⁺ ions – a new tool for structural biology“, led by Dr. Karolina Zielińska from the Laboratory of NMR.

As part of the MINIATURA 9 grant, Dr. Zielińska plans to conduct structural analyses of a series of two-tier G-quadruplexes (GQ-2t) formed by model and biologically relevant DNA/RNA fragments. Sequences capable of forming GQ-2t structures are widespread in genomic DNA; however, due to the limited stability of such systems in the presence of physiologically relevant K⁺ ions, little is currently known about their biological roles, their prevalence under cellular conditions, and their preferred topologies.

The literature contains preliminary evidence suggesting an exceptional ability of Pb²⁺ ions to stabilize certain GQ-2t structures. Within the scope of the MINIATURA project, the researcher aims to determine to what extent this property of Pb²⁺ ions can be generalized to other structures of this type. Furthermore, by applying NMR techniques, Dr. Zielińska intends to verify whether G-quadruplexes formed in the presence of Pb²⁺ and K⁺ adopt the same topologies. The obtained results may provide a new tool for structural studies of two-tier G-quadruplexes, which remain poorly understood. We sincerely congratulate Dr. Zielińska and wish her continued success!