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Phase separation provides a mechanism to reduce noise in cells

Florian Oltsch, Adam Klosin, Frank Julicher, Anthony A. Hyman, View ORCID ProfileChristoph Zechner
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/524231
Florian Oltsch
1 Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics & Center for Systems Biology Dresden;
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  • For correspondence: oltsch@mpi-cbg.de
Adam Klosin
2 Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics;
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  • For correspondence: klosin@mpi-cbg.de
Frank Julicher
3 Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems
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  • For correspondence: julicher@pks.mpg.de
Anthony A. Hyman
1 Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics & Center for Systems Biology Dresden;
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  • For correspondence: hyman@mpi-cbg.de
Christoph Zechner
1 Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics & Center for Systems Biology Dresden;
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  • ORCID record for Christoph Zechner
  • For correspondence: zechner@mpi-cbg.de
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Abstract

A central problem in cellular control is how cells cope with the inherent noise in gene expression. Although transcriptional and posttranscriptional feedback mechanisms can suppress noise, they are often slow, and cannot explain how cells buffer acute fluctuations. Here, by using a physical model that links fluctuations in protein concentration to the theory of phase separation, we show that liquid droplets can act as fast and effective buffers for gene expression noise. We confirm our theory experimentally using an engineered phase separating protein that forms liquid-like compartments in mammalian cells. These data suggest a novel role of phase separation in biological information processing.

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Posted January 22, 2019.
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Phase separation provides a mechanism to reduce noise in cells
Florian Oltsch, Adam Klosin, Frank Julicher, Anthony A. Hyman, Christoph Zechner
bioRxiv 524231; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/524231
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Phase separation provides a mechanism to reduce noise in cells
Florian Oltsch, Adam Klosin, Frank Julicher, Anthony A. Hyman, Christoph Zechner
bioRxiv 524231; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/524231

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