Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) regulate all molecular transport between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in eukaryotic cells. Intrinsically disordered Phe-Gly nucleoporins (FG-Nups) line the central conduit of NPCs to impart a selective barrier where large proteins are excluded unless bound to a transport receptor (karyopherin; Kap). Here, we assess “Kap-centric” NPC models, which postulate that Kaps participate in establishing the selective barrier. We combine biomimetic nanopores, formed by tethering Nsp1 to the inner wall of a solid-state nanopore, with coarse-grained modeling to show that yeast Kap95 exhibits two populations in Nsp1-coated pores: one population that is transported across the pore in milliseconds, and a second population that is stably assembled within the FG mesh of the pore. Ionic current measurements show a conductance decrease for increasing Kap concentrations and noise data indicate an increase in rigidity of the FG-mesh. Modeling reveals an accumulation of Kap95 near the pore wall, yielding a conductance decrease. We find that Kaps only mildly affect the conformation of the Nsp1 mesh and that, even at high concentrations, Kaps only bind at most 8% of the FG-motifs in the nanopore, indicating that Kap95 occupancy is limited by steric constraints rather than by depletion of available FG-motifs. Our data provide an alternative explanation of the origin of bimodal NPC binding of Kaps, where a stable population of Kaps binds avidly to the NPC periphery, while fast transport proceeds via a central FG-rich channel through lower affinity interactions between Kaps and the cohesive domains of Nsp1. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Growing microtubule ends organize end-tracking proteins into comets of mixed composition. Here using a reconstituted fission yeast system consisting of end-binding protein Mal3, kinesin Tea2 and cargo Tip1, we found that these proteins can be driven into liquid-phase droplets both in solution and at microtubule ends under crowding conditions. In the absence of crowding agents, cryo-electron tomography revealed that motor-dependent comets consist of disordered networks where multivalent interactions may facilitate non-stoichiometric accumulation of cargo Tip1. We found that two disordered protein regions in Mal3 are required for the formation of droplets and motor-dependent accumulation of Tip1, while autonomous Mal3 comet formation requires only one of them. Using theoretical modelling, we explore possible mechanisms by which motor activity and multivalent interactions may lead to the observed enrichment of Tip1 at microtubule ends. We conclude that microtubule ends may act as platforms where multivalent interactions condense microtubule-associated proteins into large multi-protein complexes.

Molecular traffic across lipid membranes is a vital process in cell biology that involves specialized biological pores with a great variety of pore diameters, from fractions of a nanometer to >30 nm. Creating artificial membrane pores covering similar size and complexity will aid the understanding of transmembrane molecular transport in cells, while artificial pores are also a necessary ingredient for synthetic cells. Here, we report the construction of DNA origami nanopores that have an inner diameter as large as 30 nm. We developed methods to successfully insert these ultrawide pores into the lipid membrane of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) by administering the pores concomitantly with vesicle formation in an inverted-emulsion cDICE technique. The reconstituted pores permit the transmembrane diffusion of large macromolecules, such as folded proteins, which demonstrates the formation of large membrane-spanning open pores. The pores are size selective, as dextran molecules with a diameter up to 28 nm can traverse the pores, whereas larger dextran molecules are blocked. By FRAP measurements and modeling of the GFP influx rate, we find that up to hundreds of pores can be functionally reconstituted into a single GUV. Our technique bears great potential for applications across different fields from biomimetics, to synthetic biology, to drug delivery.

Nuclear Pore Complexes (NPCs) regulate bidirectional transport between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Intrinsically disordered FG-Nups line the NPC lumen and form a selective barrier, where transport of most proteins is inhibited whereas specific transporter proteins freely pass. The mechanism underlying selective transport through the NPC is still debated. Here, we reconstitute the selective behaviour of the NPC bottom-up by introducing a rationally designed artificial FG-Nup that mimics natural Nups. Using QCM-D, we measure selective binding of the artificial FG-Nup brushes to the transport receptor Kap95 over cytosolic proteins such as BSA. Solid-state nanopores with the artificial FG-Nups lining their inner walls support fast translocation of Kap95 while blocking BSA, thus demonstrating selectivity. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations highlight the formation of a selective meshwork with densities comparable to native NPCs. Our findings show that simple design rules can recapitulate the selective behaviour of native FG-Nups and demonstrate that no specific spacer sequence nor a spatial segregation of different FG-motif types are needed to create selective NPCs.

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Coacervates are polymer-rich droplets that form through liquid-liquid phase separation in polymer solutions. Liquid-liquid phase separation and coacervation have recently been shown to play an important role in the organization of biological systems. Such systems are highly dynamic and under continuous influence of enzymatic and chemical processes. However, it is still unclear how enzymatic and chemical reactions affect the coacervation process. Here, we present and characterize a system of enzymatically active coacervates containing spermine, RNA, free nucleotides, and the template independent RNA (de)polymerase PNPase. We find that these RNA coacervates display transient nonspherical shapes, and we systematically study how PNPase concentration, UDP concentration, and temperature affect coacervate morphology. Furthermore, we show that PNPase localizes predominantly into the coacervate phase and that its depolymerization activity in high-phosphate buffer causes coacervate degradation. Our observations of nonspherical coacervate shapes may have broader implications for the relationship between (bio)chemical activity and coacervate biology.

Structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) protein complexes are the key organizers of the spatiotemporal structure of chromosomes. The condensin SMC complex has recently been shown to be a molecular motor that extrudes large loops of DNA, but the mechanism of this unique motor remains elusive. Using atomic force microscopy, we show that budding yeast condensin exhibits mainly open ‘O’ shapes and collapsed ‘B’ shapes, and it cycles dynamically between these two states over time, with ATP binding inducing the O to B transition. Condensin binds DNA via its globular domain and also via the hinge domain. We observe a single condensin complex at the stem of extruded DNA loops, where the neck size of the DNA loop correlates with the width of the condensin complex. The results are indicative of a type of scrunching model in which condensin extrudes DNA by a cyclic switching of its conformation between O and B shapes.

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has recently emerged as a method of choice to study structural and dynamic properties of large biomolecular complexes at atomic resolution. Indeed, recent technological and methodological developments have enabled the study of ever more complex systems in the solid-state. However, to explore multicomponent protein complexes by NMR, specific labeling schemes need to be developed that are dependent on the biological question to be answered. We show here how to reconstitute an isotopically labeled protein within the unlabeled 50S or 70S ribosomal subunit. In particular, we focus on the 63-residue ribosomal protein L29 (~7 kDa), which is located at the exit of the tunnel of the large 50S ribosomal subunit (~1.5 MDa). The aim of this work is the preparation of a suitable sample to investigate allosteric conformational changes in a ribosomal protein that are induced by the nascent polypeptide chain and that trigger the interaction with different chaperones (e.g., trigger factor or SRP).