Sequence-Specific Polyampholyte Phase Separation in Membraneless Organelles.
Liquid-liquid phase separation of charge- and/or aromatic-enriched intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is critical in the biological function of membraneless organelles. Much of the physics of this recent discovery remains to be elucidated. Here, we present a theory in the random phase approximation to account for electrostatic effects in polyampholyte phase separations, yielding predictions consistent with recent experiments on the IDP Ddx4. The theory is applicable to any charge pattern and thus provides a general analytical framework for studying sequence dependence of IDP phase separation.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada.|Molecular Structure and Function Program, Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada.
Yi-Hsuan
YH
Lin
Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada.|Molecular Structure and Function Program, Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada.
Julie D
JD
Forman-Kay
Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada.|Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada.
Hue Sun
HS
Chan
D008958:Models, Molecular; D015388:Organelles; D055672:Static Electricity