Liquid-liquid phase separation of a bacterial translation factor

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Authors	ZAFAR Hassan DEMO Gabriel
Year of publication	2023
Type	Conference abstract
MU Faculty or unit	Central European Institute of Technology
Citation
Attached files	CSBMB_poster_final_version_HZ_GD.pdf
Description	Compartmentalization is a hallmark of living cells that allows them to perform complex tasks by dynamically coordinating matter and energy fluxes in space and time. This compartmentalization of membrane-less organelles in prokaryotes is driven by Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation (LLPS). Studies have shown LLPS to be a major driving force in the subcellular organization of bacterial cells. These biomolecular condensates are comprised of proteins that are generally rich in intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). In prokaryotes, translation initiation factor 2 (IF-2) is a GTPase that binds the initiator tRNA and catalyses the ribosomal subunit joining to form the elongation competent 70S complex. A large portion of IF-2 contains IDRs, making the protein a favourable candidate for homotypic and/or heterotypic interactions. Here, we present biochemical evidence that IF-2 can phase separate under specific conditions. The IF-2 LLPS formation can provide deeper insight into compartmentalized translation machinery in bacterial cells.
Related projects:	National Institute of Virology and Bacteriology