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Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Antimicrobial Peptides Produced by Selective Pressure Incorporation of Non-canonical Amino Acids

Antimicrobial Peptides Produced by Selective Pressure Incorporation of Non-canonical Amino Acids

Published on: May 4, 2018

Probing condensate microenvironments with a micropeptide killswitch.

Yaotian Zhang^1,2, Ida Stöppelkamp^1,2, Pablo Fernandez-Pernas³

¹Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany.

|June 4, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Scientists developed a novel "killswitch" micropeptide to probe cellular condensates. This tool immobilizes proteins within condensates, revealing their crucial role in cell function and disease processes.

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Area of Science:

Cell Biology
Biochemistry
Molecular Biology

Background:

Biomolecular condensates form distinct subcellular microenvironments.
Probing condensate microenvironments and their functions is challenging due to limited tools for selective manipulation in living cells.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a universal system to probe endogenous biomolecular condensates.
To demonstrate direct links between condensate microenvironments and biological functions.

Main Methods:

Development of a non-natural micropeptide (killswitch) and a nanobody-based recruitment system.
Recruitment of the killswitch to endogenous condensates in human cells, including nucleolar, cancer-related, and viral condensates.
Assessment of the effects of killswitch-induced protein immobilization on condensate composition, protein mobility, and cellular processes.

Main Results:

The killswitch successfully immobilized condensate-forming proteins, altering condensate composition and function.
Targeting the killswitch to nucleoli affected nucleolar composition and ribosomal protein mobility.
Killswitch recruitment to cancer-specific condensates inhibited leukemia cell proliferation.
Inhibition of adenoviral particle assembly was observed upon killswitch targeting to viral condensates.

Conclusions:

The microenvironment within cellular condensates is essential for protein enrichment and mobility.
The killswitch is a versatile tool for altering condensate material properties and investigating their roles in diverse physiological and pathological processes.