Work

A Highly Thermostable Heme–G‐Quadruplex DNAzyme: Structural Integrity and Catalytic Function Under Elevated‐Temperature Aqueous Conditions

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Heme-G-quadruplex DNAzymes are promising biomolecular catalysts; however, their structural stability and catalytic function under elevated-temperature aqueous conditions remain poorly understood. We systematically demonstrate that rationally increasing the number of consecutively stacked G-quartets in the DNA scaffold provides a useful strategy for constructing a highly thermostable heme-G-quadruplex DNAzyme. Our results establish a clear relationship between G-quartet stacking and enhanced thermal robustness of heme-G-quadruplex DNAzymes. The engineered DNAzyme retained its peroxidase activity at temperatures up to 90 °C, far exceeding the thermal stability of conventional protein-based peroxidases, which typically denature under such conditions. These results demonstrate the potential of G-quadruplex engineering for designing robust biocatalysts and establish a general strategy for engineering thermostable DNAzymes.

Source: ChemBioChem

DOI: 10.1002/cbic.70482

Authors: Daiki Fukasawa, Ryo Karita, Yuri Shokaku, China Okamoto, Yasuhiko Yamamoto, Atsuya Momotake

Institutions: University of Tsukuba, National Metrology Institute of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, National Key Research and Development Program of China

Awards: G5229663773, Elucidation of Molecular Mechanism for Activation of High-Valent Metal-Oxo species through their interaction with G-Quadruplexes and Creation of Novel DNAzymes