Title : Light-induced targeting enables proteomics and manipulations on endogenous condensates
일시 : 2026년 10월 13일 (화), 17시
장소 : 아산이학관 433호
Speaker : 이충만 (연세대학교 물리학과)
Abstracts:
Biomolecular condensates—thermodynamically driven membraneless compartments—play critical roles in numerous cellular processes. However, their small size, dynamic nature, and transient existence pose major challenges to the direct manipulation and functional characterization of endogenous condensates. To overcome these limitations, we developed LiTEC (Light-induced Targeting of Endogenous Condensates), an optogenetic platform that enables precise spatiotemporal control over endogenous condensates in living cells.
Using LiTEC, we first performed proximity-dependent biotinylation (BioID) to comprehensively map the proteomic composition of transcriptional condensates in mouse embryonic stem cells. This allowed us to identify key candidate components and scaffolds within their native context. Furthermore, we demonstrated that LiTEC can be utilized to actively manipulate the biophysical properties of these targeted condensates. By optogenetically modulating molecular interactions, we successfully induced a real-time transition from a liquid-like to a gel-like state, allowing us to investigate how altered condensate fluidity impacts cellular functions such as gene expression.
This dual-functional approach offers a powerful and versatile framework for both dissecting the composition and engineering the material states of biomolecular condensates.