USA Researchers’ Study “Groundbreaking” For DNA

 A study from researchers at the University of South Alabama (USA) Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine could redefine how scientists understand the role of DNA in regulating genes, USA announced. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Nucleic Acids Research, the study introduces a revolutionary concept—that DNA itself plays a direct and active role in the regulation of gene expression, challenging traditional views that proteins are the sole mediators of this process. Led by Dr. Glen Borchert, a professor of pharmacology at the college and a professor of biology at USA’s College of Arts and Sciences, this pioneering research focuses on a specific DNA structure known as Long G4 stretches (LG4s). The Borchert lab first described LG4s in the human genome in 2020, identifying approximately 300 such regions. In the new study, Borchert and his team show that these unique DNA structures can directly interact with genomic promoters—the parts of the genome responsible for regulating gene activity. For the first time, researchers demonstrated that genes and their enhancers can connect through direct DNA binding without the involvement of proteins. This discovery directly challenges the longstanding theory that proteins are necessary for genomic looping, a process by which genes and their enhancers come into close proximity to regulate gene expression.