TY - JOUR T1 - Overexpression of the microtubule-binding protein CLIP-170 induces a +TIP network superstructure consistent with a biomolecular condensate JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/2021.01.01.424687 SP - 2021.01.01.424687 AU - Yueh-Fu O. Wu AU - Annamarie T. Bryant AU - Nora T. Nelson AU - Alexander G. Madey AU - Gail F. Fernandes AU - Holly V. Goodson Y1 - 2021/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/01/01/2021.01.01.424687.abstract N2 - Proper regulation of microtubule (MT) dynamics is critical for cellular processes including cell division and intracellular transport. Plus-end tracking proteins (+TIPs) dynamically track growing MTs and play a key role in MT regulation. +TIPs participate in a complex web of intra- and inter-molecular interactions known as the +TIP network. Hypotheses addressing the purpose of +TIP:+TIP interactions include relieving +TIP autoinhibition and localizing MT regulators to growing MT ends. In addition, we have proposed that the web of +TIP:+TIP interactions has a physical purpose, creating a superstructure that constrains the structural fluctuations of the fragile MT tip and thus acts as a polymerization chaperone. Many animal +TIP network proteins are multivalent and have intrinsically disordered regions, features commonly found in biomolecular condensates. This observation suggests that the +TIP network might under some conditions form a biomolecular condensate. Previous studies have shown that overexpression of the +TIP CLIP-170 induces large “patch” structures containing CLIP-170 and other +TIPs. To test the hypothesis that these patches might be biomolecular condensates, we used video microscopy, immunofluorescence staining, and Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP). Our data show that the CLIP-170-induced patches have hallmarks indicative of a biomolecular condensate, one that contains +TIP proteins and excludes other known condensate markers. Moreover, bioinformatic studies demonstrate that the presence of intrinsically disordered regions is conserved in key +TIPs, implying that these regions are functionally significant. Together, these results indicate that the CLIP-170 induced patches in cells are phase-separated liquid condensates and raise the possibility that the endogenous +TIP network might form a liquid droplet at MT ends or other +TIP locations.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest. ER -