Motif-pattern dependence of biomolecular phase separation driven by specific interactions
Fig 3
Ability to phase separate is determined by the sequence of binding motifs for polymers of different lengths, patterns, and motif stoichiometries.
(a) Tc and ϕc for L = 24 polymers with scrambled sequences and block sequences of various lengths. Mean ± SD over three replicates. (Temperature uncertainties are too small to see in (a) and (c).) (b) Tc as a function of motif stoichiometry a/L. The solid curve corresponds to ℓ = 3 sequences where a number of B motifs are randomly mutated to A motifs, and the dashed curve shows scrambled sequences. Mean ± SD over four different sequences. (c) Tc from Monte Carlo simulations versus mean-field theory (blue) and condensation parameter (orange) for block sequences, scrambled sequences, and sequences with unequal motif stoichiometry, all L = 24. Mean ± SD over three replicates for simulation Tc. (d) Distribution of Tc values for 20, 000 random sequences of length L = 24 with a = b, calculated from Ψ values and the linear Tc versus Ψ relation for block sequences. Block sequence Tc values are marked.