Phase separation modulates the assembly and dynamics of a polarity-related scaffold-signaling hub

Wei Tan, Sihua Cheng, Yingying Li, Xiao-Yang Li, Ning Lu, Jingxian Sun, Guiyue Tang, Yujiao Yang, Kezhu Cai, Xuefei Li, Xijun Ou, Xiang Gao, Guo-Ping Zhao, W. Seth Childers and Wei Zhao ()
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Wei Tan: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Sihua Cheng: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yingying Li: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiao-Yang Li: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ning Lu: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jingxian Sun: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guiyue Tang: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yujiao Yang: CAS Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kezhu Cai: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xuefei Li: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xijun Ou: Southern University of Science and Technology
Xiang Gao: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guo-Ping Zhao: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
W. Seth Childers: University of Pittsburgh
Wei Zhao: CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Asymmetric cell division (ACD) produces morphologically and behaviorally distinct cells and is the primary way to generate cell diversity. In the model bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, the polarization of distinct scaffold-signaling hubs at the swarmer and stalked cell poles constitutes the basis of ACD. However, mechanisms involved in the formation of these hubs remain elusive. Here, we show that a swarmer-cell-pole scaffold, PodJ, forms biomolecular condensates both in vitro and in living cells via phase separation. The coiled-coil 4–6 and the intrinsically disordered regions are the primary domains that contribute to biomolecular condensate generation and signaling protein recruitment in PodJ. Moreover, a negative regulation of PodJ phase separation by the stalked-cell-pole scaffold protein SpmX is revealed. SpmX impedes PodJ cell-pole accumulation and affects its recruitment ability. Together, by modulating the assembly and dynamics of scaffold-signaling hubs, phase separation may serve as a general biophysical mechanism that underlies the regulation of ACD in bacteria and other organisms.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35000-2

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