Stochasticity of Biological Soft Matter: Emerging Concepts in Intrinsically Disordered Proteins and Biological Phase Separation

Konstantin K Turoverov; Irina M Kuznetsova; Alexander V Fonin; April L Darling; Boris Y Zaslavsky; Vladimir N Uversky

doi:10.1016/j.tibs.2019.03.005

Stochasticity of Biological Soft Matter: Emerging Concepts in Intrinsically Disordered Proteins and Biological Phase Separation

Trends Biochem Sci. 2019 Aug;44(8):716-728. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2019.03.005. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Authors

Konstantin K Turoverov¹, Irina M Kuznetsova², Alexander V Fonin², April L Darling³, Boris Y Zaslavsky⁴, Vladimir N Uversky⁵

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 194064, Russia; Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Department of Biophysics, Polytechnicheskaya Av. 29, St. Petersburg 195251, Russia. Electronic address: kkt@incras.ru.
² Laboratory of Structural Dynamics, Stability and Folding of Proteins, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 194064, Russia.
³ Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
⁴ Analiza, Inc., 3615 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44114, USA.
⁵ Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA. Electronic address: vuversky@health.usf.edu.

PMID: 31023505
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2019.03.005

Abstract

At the turn of this century, cardinal changes took place in the perceptions of the structure and function of proteins, as well as in the organizational principles of membrane-less organelles. As a result, the model of the organization of living matter is changing to one described by highly dynamic biological soft matter positioned at the edge of chaos. Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and membrane-less organelles are key examples of this new outlook and may represent a critical foundation of life, defining its complexity and the evolution of living things.

Keywords: biological soft matter; edge of chaos; emergent behavior; liquid-liquid phase transition.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Amino Acid Sequence
Biocompatible Materials / chemistry*
Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins / chemistry*
Organelles / chemistry
Organelles / metabolism
Phase Transition
Protein Conformation
Single Molecule Imaging
Transition Temperature

Substances

Biocompatible Materials
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins