1. 논문관련 분야의 소개, 동향, 전망을 설명, 연구과정에서 생긴 에피소드

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are secondary structures that can form either in DNA or RNA and are characterized by the presence of contiguous stretches of guanines separated by single-stranded loop regions. These guanines can stack upon each other to form g-quartets which are stabilized by cations such as sodium and potassium. The formation of G4s is dependent on various factors such as loop length, sequence, and ionic environment. It is generally believed that G4s with long loops form less stable G4s. There are over 700,000 G4-forming regions in the human genome. This paper discusses the possibility of formation of hairpin-G4s which are long-looped G4s in which the long loop can fold into a hairpin structure and further stabilize the G4 compared to the conventional long looped G4s. During the course of our work, we found that the stability of G4 was affected by the concentration of Mg ions in the environment. From the functional perspective, we found that these hairpin-G4s could affect gene expression by stalling RNA polymerase progression. This enables us to widen the scope of studies on G4s by including long looped G4s as potential therapeutic targets.

2. 연구를 진행했던 소속기관 또는 연구소에 대해 소개 부탁드립니다.

The research was conducted at Sungkyunkwan university school of Medicine in the Structural Biology laboratory headed by Prof. Kyeong Kyu Kim. It is a national laboratory which has done extensive work with noncanonical DNA and RNA structures to unravel their structural intricacies and identify their functional importance.

3. 연구 활동 하시면서 평소 느끼신 점 또는 자부심, 보람

Research is exciting as it provides a medium for the fusion of science and creative thinking. The reward in research is the ability to share the scientific curiosity with others and collaborate with great minds around the world.

4. 이 분야로 진학하려는 후배들 또는 유학준비생들에게 도움이 되는 말씀을 해 주신다면?

My advice to students and juniors in this field is to question everything and think logically.

5. 연구 활동과 관련된 앞으로의 계획이 있으시다면?

We are working towards identifying more noncanonical DNA and RNA structures for developing therapeutic interventions especially with regards to neurodegenerative disorders.