The flipside of DNA Flipons and alternative nucleic acid structures

information coding for an almost endless number of end-product possibilities. Seventy years on from the discovery of DNA, we’re still learning about the intricacies of our genome – and have much more to learn. An area of focus for Dr Alan Herbert, InsideOutBio Inc, USA, is alternative nucleic acid structures. These differ in structure from the original B-DNA first described by Watson and Crick in 1953. However, the genome contains many repeat sequences capable of forming alternative DNA structures under physiological conditions, like left-handed Z-DNA and four-stranded quadruplexes. These genetically encoded elements are called flipons.