Yi-Che Chang

TL;DR: CasDrop is used, a novel CRISPR-Cas9-based optogenetic technology, to show that various IDPs phase separate into liquid condensates that mechanically exclude chromatin as they grow and preferentially form in low-density, largely euchromatic regions.

TL;DR: It is found that TAF15 has a unique charge distribution among the FET family members that enhances its interactions with the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II, suggesting that positive feedback between interacting transcriptional components drives localized phase separation to amplify gene expression.

TL;DR: FKBP12, an isomerase that exhibits reduced expression in HD, decreases the amyloidogenicity of mHTT, interrupts its oligomerization process, and structurally promotes the formation of amorphous deposits, which may shed light on unraveling the roles of FKBP 12 in different neurodegenerative diseases and developing possible therapeutic strategies.

TL;DR: It is shown that amino acid sequence-dependent phase separation of TAF15 is enhanced significantly due to strong nuclear interactions with the C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA Pol II, which suggests a model in which positive feedback between key transcriptional components drives intermittent dynamics of localized phase separation, to amplify gene expression.