No.225 Seminar ： Nucleation and surface fluctuations of biomolecular condensates
- Associte Professor Shunsuke Shimobayashi (Center for iPS Cell Reseach and Application)
- 2022-10-04 16:30:00
- Zoom and onsite at the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research (Research Administration Building B1F)
- English
- Hybrid manner ／ Closed (only availble for members affiliatted to Kyoto University)
Summary
The diverse functions and homeostasis maintenance of cells and tissuesare supported by dynamic communications between internal single
molecules and organelles. Organelles have been thought to be separated
by lipid membranes, as represented by cell nuclei and
mitochondria. However, in recent years, many organelles and molecular
assemblies that do not have lipid membranes, often called as
biomolecular condensates, have been discovered and reconsidered. They
are formed through phase separation principles and are likely involved
in important biological functions, including gene expression and
signaling; however, we are still largely in the dark about the molecular
and biophysical factors that govern where and when these condensates
form in living cells. Using optogenetics to light-control the nucleation
process, we quantitatively analyzed it and revealed that the process can
be described by the framework of classical nucleation theories.
Moreover, we found that locally concentrated biomolecular features (e.g.
amino acid sequence) can tune the nucleation landscape. In this seminar,
in addition to the nucleation mechanism, I will share the recent ongoing
work on the interface fluctuation of biomolecular condensates. [ref] S. F. Shimobayashi, Pierre Ronceray, David W. Sanders, Mikko P. Haataja, and C. P. Brangwynne,
Nucleation landscape ofbiomolecular condensates, Nature, 599 (7885), 503-506, (2021)/