Many regulatory proteins form liquid-like condensates inside cells, but the upstream signals that control their formation are still being uncovered. Here we found that ROS strongly promotes liquid–liquid phase separation of certain proteins. Using localized light-induced ROS, these proteins form sharp spatial enrichment patterns in vitro, and preliminary cell data hint towards relevance in living cells. This work points to redox chemistry as a way to organize condensates and microtubule dynamics in space and time.
Thomas Litschel 