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A Tug of War Between Condensate Phases in a Minimal Macromolecular System

Archishman Ghosh, Xiaojia Zhang, View ORCID ProfileHuan-Xiang Zhou
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.29.925099
Archishman Ghosh
1Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607
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Xiaojia Zhang
1Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607
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Huan-Xiang Zhou
1Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607
2Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607
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  • ORCID record for Huan-Xiang Zhou
  • For correspondence: hzhou43@uic.edu
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Abstract

Membraneless organelles formed via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) contain a multitude of macromolecular species. A few of these species drive LLPS while most serve as regulators. The LLPS of SH35 (S) and PRM5 (P), two oppositely charged protein constructs, was promoted by a polyanion heparin (H) but suppressed by a cationic protein lysozyme (L). Here, using these four components alone, we demonstrate complex phase behaviors associated with membraneless organelles and uncover the underlying physical rules. The S:P, S:L, and P:H binaries form droplets, but the H:L binary forms precipitates, therefore setting off a tug of water between different phases within the S:P:H:L quaternary. We observe dissolution of precipitates upon compositional change, transformation from precipitates to droplet-like condensates over time, and segregation of S:L-rich and P:H-rich foci inside droplet-like condensates. A minimal macromolecular system can thus recapitulate membraneless organelles in essential ways and provide crucial physical understanding.

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Posted January 30, 2020.
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A Tug of War Between Condensate Phases in a Minimal Macromolecular System
Archishman Ghosh, Xiaojia Zhang, Huan-Xiang Zhou
bioRxiv 2020.01.29.925099; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.29.925099
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A Tug of War Between Condensate Phases in a Minimal Macromolecular System
Archishman Ghosh, Xiaojia Zhang, Huan-Xiang Zhou
bioRxiv 2020.01.29.925099; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.29.925099

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