We aim to understand how intrinsically disordered regions sense and respond to changes in the physical chemical properties of the environment. We combine biophysical, biochemical, genetic, and cell biology techniques to monitor how the structural ensemble of disordered regions change in living cells. Protein biophysics techniques are currently used to study the confirmation of IVRs.
These include nuclear magnetic resonance, circular dichroism, small angle x-ray scattering, and FRET. Most of these techniques can only be used in vitro. Studying the confirmation of IVRs in a cellular context is challenging with high cost and time consuming techniques.
We provide an alternative to overcome these challenges. Our protocol can monitor the confirmation of IVRs in an easy, fast, and reproducible way, complementing other in vitro methods. Our findings offered an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the structural sensitivity of IVRs under stress.
This allows the use of IVRs as somatic biosensors. The precise tracking of the cellular environment will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of life's fundamental processes. Our research has led to questions about the determinants of a structural sensitivity in intrinsically disordered regions, its relevance to IVR's functions, and the environmental factors influencing these sensitivity.
