Regulation of Peptide Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation by Aromatic Amino Acid Composition.

Membraneless organelles are cellular biomolecular condensates that are formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of proteins and nucleic acids. LLPS is driven by multiple weak attractive forces, including intermolecular interactions mediated by aromatic amino acids. Considering the contribution of π-electron bearing side chains to protein-RNA LLPS, systematically study sought to how the composition of aromatic amino acids affects the formation of heterotypic condensates and their physical properties.

Regulation of enzymatic reactions by chemical composition of peptide biomolecular condensates.

Biomolecular condensates are condensed intracellular phases that are formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of proteins, either in the absence or presence of nucleic acids. These condensed phases regulate various biochemical reactions by recruitment of enzymes and substrates. Developments in the field of LLPS facilitated new insights on the regulation of compartmentalized enzymatic reactions.