Phase separation provides a mechanism to reduce noise in cells
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Expression of proteins inside cells is noisy, causing variability in protein concentration among identical cells. A central problem in cellular control is how cells cope with this inherent noise. Compartmentalization of proteins through phase separation has been suggested as a potential mechanism to reduce noise, but systematic studies to support this idea have been missing. In this study, we used a physical model that links noise in protein concentration to theory of phase separation to show that liquid droplets can effectively reduce noise. We provide experimental support for noise reduction by phase separation using engineered proteins that form liquid-like compartments in mammalian cells. Thus, phase separation can play an important role in biological signal processing and control.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 464-468 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 367 |
Issue number | 6476 |
Publication status | Published - 24 Jan 2020 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 85078088183 |
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ORCID | /0000-0003-0475-3790/work/155291304 |
Keywords
Keywords
- Bacterial Proteins/biosynthesis, Cell Nucleus/metabolism, Cells/metabolism, DEAD-box RNA Helicases/biosynthesis, Gene Expression, HCT116 Cells, HeLa Cells, Humans, Luminescent Proteins/biosynthesis, Phase Transition, Protein Engineering, Recombinant Proteins/biosynthesis