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Keywords bacterial cell poles high-throughput screens 3D interaction modeling protein-protein interaction subcellular localization in bacteria PTS enzyme I, EI TmaR phase separation, PS Research topic(s) CP: Microbiology CP: Molecular biology Introduction The complexity of bacterial cells has been underestimated for decades. The scarcity of membrane-bounded organelles led to the assumption that macromolecules are not specifically localized in bacterial cells.

Abstract Biomolecular organization is central to cell function. While phase separation is a key mechanism orchestrating this organization, we lack a comprehensive view of genes that can globally influence this process in vivo. To identify such genes, we combined functional genomics and synthetic biology. We developed a bioorthogonal system that can identify changes in the intracellular milieu that globally tune phase separation.

Abstract The assembly of proteins into functional complexes is critical to life's processes. While textbooks depict complex assembly as occurring between fully synthesized proteins, we know today that thousands of proteins in the human proteome assemble co-translationally during their synthesis. Why this process takes place, however, remains unknown.