DATE2024.07.25 #Press Releases
Decoding protein condensation
-Predicting Condensation of Proteins from Amino Acid Sequences-
Summary
The research team of Kyosuke Adachi (Research Scientist, iTHEMS / Research Scientist, Nonequilibrium Physics of Living Matter RIKEN Hakubi Research Team, RIKEN BDR) and Kyogo Kawaguchi (Team Leader, Nonequilibrium Physics of Living Matter RIKEN Hakubi Research Team, RIKEN BDR / Associate Professor, Institute for Physics of Intelligence, The University of Tokyo) has proposed a theory that predicts the condensation of protein molecules and demixing of condensates based on amino acid sequences.
In cells, there are various organelles made from molecules including proteins. In addition to membrane-bound organelles such as mitochondria, it is known that there are many membrane-less organelles called biological condensates. However, the mechanism by which different types of condensates coexist within a cell without mixing has remained unclear.
In this study, the research team focused on the sequences of intrinsically disordered regions in proteins, and proposed a theory that predicts the propensity of proteins to condensate based on the amino acid sequences. By applying this theory, they elucidated relatively simple rules within these amino acid sequences that determine whether different types of proteins form mixed condensates or end up in separate condensates.
This research was published in the online scientific journal " Physical Review X " (July 18).
Figure: Theory predicting properties of protein condensation from amino acid sequences
For more information, please visit the RIKEN website.（in Japanese)
Journal
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Journal name Physical Review XTitle of paper