Solvent Exposure and Ionic Condensation Drive Fuzzy Dimerization of Disordered Heterochromatin Protein Sequence.

ABSTRACT: Proteins with low complexity, disordered sequences are receiving increasing attention due to their central roles in the biogenesis and regulation of membraneless organelles. In eukaryotic organisms, a substantial fraction of disordered proteins reside in the nucleus, thereby facilitating the formation of nuclear bodies, nucleolus, and chromatin compartmentalization. The heterochromatin family of proteins (HP1) is an important player in driving the formation of gene silenced mesoscopic heterochromatin B compartments and pericentric regions. Recent experiments have shown that the HP1a sequence of Drosophila melanogaster can undergo liquid-liquid phase separation under both in vitro and in vivo conditions, induced by changes of the monovalent salt concentration. While the phase separation of

SUBMITTER: Mueterthies J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8234964 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature