(623a) Engineering Biomolecular Condensates for Synthetic Biology

The formation of biomolecular condensates mediated by a coupling of associative and segregative phase transitions plays a critical role in controlling diverse cellular functions in nature. This has inspired the design of synthetic systems capable of driving phase transitions. I will present a rational engineering approach to program the formation and physical properties of synthetic condensates to achieve designed cellular functions. I will illustrate the design rules of modular biomolecular components toward regulating condensate functions. I will demonstrate how this engineering approach enables designer condensates to achieve targeted plasmid sequestration and transcription regulation in bacteria and modulation of a protein circuit in mammalian cells. This approach lays the foundation for engineering designer condensates for synthetic biology applications.

Reference

Dai. et al. Nature Chemical Biology. 19, 518–528 (2023)