Structure-dependent recruitment and diffusion of guest proteins in liquid droplets of FUS

Abstract

Liquid droplets of a host protein, formed by liquid–liquid phase separation, recruit guest proteins and provide functional fields. Recruitment into p53 droplets is similar between disordered and folded guest proteins, whereas the diffusion of guest proteins inside droplets depends on their structural types. In this study, to elucidate how the recruitment and diffusion properties of guest proteins are affected by a host protein, we characterized the properties of guest proteins in fused in sarcoma (FUS) droplets using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy in comparison with p53 droplets. Unlike p53 droplets, disordered guest proteins were recruited into FUS droplets more efficiently than folded guest proteins, suggesting physical exclusion of the folded proteins from the small voids of the droplet. The recruitment did not appear to depend on the physical parameters (electrostatic or cation–π) of guests, implying that molecular size exclusion limits intermolecular interaction-assisted uptake. The diffusion of disordered guest proteins was comparable to that of the host FUS, whereas that of folded proteins varied widely, similar to the results for host p53. The scaling exponent of diffusion highlights the molecular sieving of large folded proteins in droplets. Finally, we proposed a molecular recruitment and diffusion model for guest proteins in FUS droplets.