Intracellular phase separation and its role in nickel sensing

Abstract

Nickel homeostasis in many bacteria is controlled by the nickel-sensor NikR. A recent study by Cao et al. found that Escherichia coli NikR undergoes phase separation and that this event enhances its function as a nickel-dependent transcriptional repressor. The results suggest that phase separation is functional for bacterial metal homeostasis.

Keywords: NikR; biomolecular condensates; liquid–liquid phase separation; metal homeostasis; nickel-sensor; transcriptional regulation.