Control of bacterial nitrate assimilation by stabilization of G-quadruplex DNA

Abstract

Here we present a chemical-biology study in the model soil bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans, where we show ligand-specific control of nitrate assimilation. Stabilization of a G-quadruplex in the promoter region of the nas genes, encoding the assimilatory nitrate/nitrite reductase system, is achieved using known quadruplex ligands and results in attenuation of gene transcription.