AI Article Synopsis
- - Membraneless organelles, typically seen in eukaryotes, have been successfully created in prokaryotic E. coli through the overexpression of disordered proteins like spider silk and resilin.
- - These organelles form via liquid-liquid phase separation, and experiments mimicking the crowded E. coli environment demonstrated their formation.
- - The study showed that these condensates can be engineered to localize specific proteins, allowing them to function as artificial organelles capable of fluorescing and facilitating biochemical reactions, opening new avenues in synthetic biology.
Article Abstract
Membraneless organelles formed by liquid-liquid phase separation of proteins or nucleic acids are involved in diverse biological processes in eukaryotes. However, such cellular compartments have yet to be discovered or created synthetically in prokaryotes. Here, we report the formation of liquid protein condensates inside the cells of prokaryotic Escherichia coli upon heterologous overexpression of intrinsically disordered proteins such as spider silk and resilin. In vitro reconstitution under conditions that mimic intracellular physiologically crowding environments of E. coli revealed that the condensates are formed via liquid-liquid phase separation. We also show functionalization of these condensates via targeted colocalization of cargo proteins to create functional membraneless compartments able to fluoresce and to catalyze biochemical reactions. The ability to form and functionalize membraneless compartments may serve as a versatile tool to develop artificial organelles with on-demand functions in prokaryotes for applications in synthetic biology.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41589-020-0579-9 | DOI Listing |
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