IDRs lead the way: cooperativity between intrinsically disordered regions and structured interaction domains drives enrichment in transcription condensates

Many biomolecular condensates are thought to form through phase separation driven by weak and multivalent, non-stoichiometric interactions between intrinsically disordered protein regions (IDRs). IDRs are abundant in the transcription-related proteome. In vitro, different transcription-related IDRs coalesce into the same droplets, providing support for this IDR-centric paradigm of protein enrichment in transcription condensates in the cell nucleus. But our experiments show that IDRs are not sufficient to account for the degree of enrichment observed for full-length proteins in endogenous transcription condensates. Instead, we find a pattern in which IDRs facilitate engagement of structured interaction domains with a binding substrate. Instead, we find a pattern in which IDRs facilitate engagement of structured interaction domains with a binding substrate. Our results indicate that the role of IDRs in transcription condensates requires further investigation with tools that assess their mode of action in situ. Understanding the role of different protein domains and their interplay will also be important for interpreting biotechnological assays that utilize parts of condensate forming proteins.