Salt-Dependent Rheology and Surface Tension of Protein Condensates Using Optical Traps

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Louise M Jawerth - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Author)
  • Mahdiye Ijavi - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Author)
  • Martine Ruer - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Author)
  • Shambaditya Saha - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Author)
  • Marcus Jahnel - , Biotechnology Center, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Author)
  • Anthony A. Hyman - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Author)
  • Frank Jülicher - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Author)
  • Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich - , Biotechnology Center, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Author)

Abstract

An increasing number of proteins with intrinsically disordered domains have been shown to phase separate in buffer to form liquidlike phases. These protein condensates serve as simple models for the investigation of the more complex membraneless organelles in cells. To understand the function of such proteins in cells, the material properties of the condensates they form are important. However, these material properties are not well understood. Here, we develop a novel method based on optical traps to study the frequency-dependent rheology and the surface tension of P-granule protein PGL-3 condensates as a function of salt concentration. We find that PGL-3 droplets are predominantly viscous but also exhibit elastic properties. As the salt concentration is reduced, their elastic modulus, viscosity, and surface tension increase. Our findings show that salt concentration has a strong influence on the rheology and dynamics of protein condensates suggesting an important role of electrostatic interactions for their material properties.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number258101
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume121
Issue number25
Publication statusPublished - 21 Dec 2018
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85059176846
ORCID /0000-0002-2433-916X/work/142250433

Keywords

Keywords

  • Animals, Caenorhabditis elegans, Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/chemistry, Models, Chemical, Optical Tweezers, RNA-Binding Proteins/chemistry, Rheology/methods, Surface Tension, Viscosity

Library keywords