The i-motif represents a paradigmatic example of the wide structural versatility of nucleic acids. In remarkable contrast to duplex DNA, i-motifs are four-stranded DNA structures held together by hemi- protonated and intercalated cytosine base pairs (C:C+). First observed 25 years ago, and considered by many as a mere structural oddity, interest in and discussion on the biological role of i-motifs have grown dramatically in recent years. In this review we focus on structural aspects of i-motif formation, the factors leading to its stabilization and recent studies describing the possible role of i-motifs in fundamental biological processes.

Centromeres are the chromosomal loci at which spindle microtubules attach to mediate chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis. In most eukaryotes, centromeres are made up of highly repetitive DNA sequences (satellite DNA) interspersed with middle repetitive DNA sequences (transposable elements). Despite the efforts to establish complete genomic sequences of eukaryotic organisms, the so-called ‘finished’ genomes are not actually complete because the centromeres have not been assembled due to the intrinsic difficulties in constructing both physical maps and complete sequence assemblies of long stretches of tandemly repetitive DNA. Here we show the first molecular structure of an endogenous Drosophila centromere and the ability of the C-rich dodeca satellite strand to form dimeric i-motifs. The finding of i-motif structures in simple and complex centromeric satellite DNAs leads us to suggest that these centromeric sequences may have been selected not by their primary sequence but by their ability to form noncanonical secondary structures.

Telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) is a novel and very attractive antitumoral target. Here, we report the first successful application of (19)F-NMR fragment-based screening to identify chemically diverse compounds that bind to an RNA molecule such as TERRA. We have built a library of 355 fluorinated fragments, and checked their interaction with a long telomeric RNA as a target molecule. The screening resulted in the identification of 20 hits (hit rate of 5.6%). For a number of binders, their interaction with TERRA was confirmed by (19)F- and (1)H NMR as well as by CD melting experiments. We have also explored the selectivity of the ligands for RNA G-quadruplexes and found that some of the hits do not interact with other nucleic acids such as tRNA and duplex DNA and, most importantly, favor the propeller-like parallel conformation in telomeric DNA G-quadruplexes. This suggests a selective recognition of this particular quadruplex topology and that different ligands may recognize specific sites in propeller-like parallel G-quadruplexes. Such features make some of the resulting binders promising lead compounds for fragment based drug discovery.