Nature Communications (Mar 2021)

Loci-specific phase separation of FET fusion oncoproteins promotes gene transcription

  • Linyu Zuo,
  • Guanwei Zhang,
  • Matthew Massett,
  • Jun Cheng,
  • Zicong Guo,
  • Liang Wang,
  • Yifei Gao,
  • Ru Li,
  • Xu Huang,
  • Pilong Li,
  • Zhi Qi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21690-7
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 16

Abstract

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FUS/EWS/TAF15 (FET) fusion oncoproteins contain low complexity domain which forms biomolecular condensates that recruit RNA polymerase II. Here the authors develop a single-molecule assay to visualize this phenomenon providing in vitro evidence to support causative relationship between the formation of condensates on DNA and gene transcription. Furthermore, they also determine a threshold number of fusion-binding DNA satellite elements required for the formation of FET protein condensates.