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research article

Phase behaviour and structure of a model biomolecular condensate

Shillcock, J. C.  
•
Brochut, M.
•
Chenais, E.
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July 21, 2020
Soft Matter

Phase separation of immiscible fluids is a common phenomenon in polymer chemistry, and is recognized as an important mechanism by which cells compartmentalize their biochemical reactions. Biomolecular condensates are condensed fluid droplets in cells that form by liquid-liquid phase separation of intrinsically-disordered proteins. They have a wide range of functions and are associated with chronic neurodegenerative diseases in which they become pathologically rigid. However, it remains unclear how their material properties depend on the molecular structure of the proteins. Here we explore the phase behaviour and structure of a model biomolecular condensate composed of semi-flexible polymers with attractive end-caps using coarse-grained simulations. The model contains the minimal molecular features that are sufficient to observe liquid-liquid phase separation of soluble polymers into a porous, three-dimensional network in which their end-caps reversibly bind at junctions. The distance between connected junctions scales with the polymer length as a self-avoiding random walk over a wide range of concentration with a weak affinity-dependent prefactor. By contrast, the average number of polymers that meet at the junctions depends on the end-cap affinity but only weakly on the polymer length. The structured porosity of the condensed phase suggests a mechanism for cells to regulate biomolecular condensates. Protein interaction sites may be turned on or off to modulate the condensate's porosity and therefore the diffusion and interaction of additional proteins.

  • Details
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Type
research article
DOI
10.1039/d0sm00813c
Web of Science ID

WOS:000548419000013

Author(s)
Shillcock, J. C.  
•
Brochut, M.
•
Chenais, E.
•
Ipsen, J. H.
Date Issued

2020-07-21

Published in
Soft Matter
Volume

16

Issue

27

Start page

6413

End page

6423

Subjects

Chemistry, Physical

•

Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

•

Physics, Multidisciplinary

•

Polymer Science

•

Chemistry

•

Materials Science

•

Physics

•

Polymer Science

•

dissipative particle dynamics

•

intrinsically disordered proteins

•

liquid-phase

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separation

•

transitions

•

phosphorylation

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aggregation

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simulation

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membranes

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polymers

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
BMI  
Available on Infoscience
July 30, 2020
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/170456
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