Guanine-rich sequences display a large structural variability with folds ranging from duplex to triplex and quadruplex helices. Quadruplexes are polymorphic and can display multiple stoichiometries, parallel and antiparallel strand alignments, with different topological arrangements. We analyze here the equilibrium between intramolecular antiparallel and intermolecular parallel G-quadruplexes in the thrombin binding aptamer (TBA) sequence. Our theoretical and experimental studies demonstrate that an apparently simple modification at the loops of TBA induces a large change in the monomeric antiparallel structure of TBA to yield a parallel G-quadruplex exhibiting a novel T-tetrad. Present results illustrate the extreme polymorphism of G-quadruplexes and the ease to manipulate their conformation in solution by nucleotide modification. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.