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Peptides that Mimic RS repeats modulate phase separation of SRSF1, revealing a reliance on combined stacking and electrostatic interactions

View ORCID ProfileTalia Fargason, Naiduwadura Ivon Upekala De Silva, Erin King, Zihan Zhang, Trenton Paul, Jamal Shariq, Steve Zaharias, Jun Zhang
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.24.511151
Talia Fargason
1Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CH266, 901 14th Street South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-1240, USA
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  • ORCID record for Talia Fargason
Naiduwadura Ivon Upekala De Silva
1Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CH266, 901 14th Street South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-1240, USA
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Erin King
1Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CH266, 901 14th Street South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-1240, USA
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Zihan Zhang
1Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CH266, 901 14th Street South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-1240, USA
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Trenton Paul
1Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CH266, 901 14th Street South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-1240, USA
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Jamal Shariq
1Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CH266, 901 14th Street South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-1240, USA
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Steve Zaharias
1Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CH266, 901 14th Street South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-1240, USA
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Jun Zhang
1Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, CH266, 901 14th Street South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-1240, USA
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  • For correspondence: zhanguab@uab.edu
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Abstract

Phase separation plays crucial roles in both sustaining cellular function and perpetuating disease states. Despite extensive studies, our understanding of this process is hindered by low solubility of phase-separating proteins. One example of this is found in SR proteins. These proteins are characterized by domains rich in arginine and serine (RS domains), which are essential to alternative splicing, in vivo phase separation, and a low solubility that has made these proteins difficult to study for decades. Here, we solubilize the founding member of the SR family, SRSF1, by introducing a peptide mimicking RS repeats as a co-solute. We find that this RS-mimic peptide forms interactions similar to those of the protein’s RS domain. Both interact with a combination of surface-exposed aromatic residues and acidic residues on SRSF1’s RNA Recognition Motifs (RRMs) through electrostatic and cation-pi interactions. Analysis of RRM domains spanning the human proteome indicates that RRM domains involved in phase separation have more exposed aromatic residues and that in phase-separating proteins containing RS repeats, such residues are frequently surrounded by acidic residues. In addition to opening an avenue to previously unavailable proteins, our work provides insight into how SR proteins phase separate and participate in nuclear speckles.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • https://github.com/taliafargason/Aromatic_neighbors

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted October 24, 2022.
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Peptides that Mimic RS repeats modulate phase separation of SRSF1, revealing a reliance on combined stacking and electrostatic interactions
Talia Fargason, Naiduwadura Ivon Upekala De Silva, Erin King, Zihan Zhang, Trenton Paul, Jamal Shariq, Steve Zaharias, Jun Zhang
bioRxiv 2022.10.24.511151; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.24.511151
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Peptides that Mimic RS repeats modulate phase separation of SRSF1, revealing a reliance on combined stacking and electrostatic interactions
Talia Fargason, Naiduwadura Ivon Upekala De Silva, Erin King, Zihan Zhang, Trenton Paul, Jamal Shariq, Steve Zaharias, Jun Zhang
bioRxiv 2022.10.24.511151; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.24.511151

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