Interestingly, overall cellular p62 abundance predicts recruitment of both endogenous and overexpressed UBQLN2 to p62 puncta.
Posts by Castañeda Lab at SU
We also observed a correlation between phase separation propensity (in vitro sat. concentration measurements) and UBQLN2 puncta formation in cells:
Transfected UBQLN2 constructs containing residue numbers listed in the absence and presence of heat stress.
And there's more. We made a library of UBQLN2 domain deletion constructs that revealed patterns in UBQLN2 subcellular organization and puncta formation.
#preprint by postdoc Billy Haws reveals the determinants of how UBQLN2 forms puncta under heat stress conditions - using both in vitro and in cell experiments, turns out the substrate-binding / chaperone-binding STI1-I and STI1-II domains are the driving forces! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Happy #BiophysicsWeek! This week is full of free events sponsored by BPS, Subgroups, and Affiliate Event organizers. And don't miss the many biophysics resources created by BPS committees! buff.ly/Yz26hiG
🧬 #Yeast Dsk2 uses its STI1 domain to interact with transient helices, driving phase separation and proteasome condensate formation under stress. This reveals new details about how cells organize protein degradation machinery
🧪 #YeastResearch #SGD #ProteinQuality
www.yeastgenome.org/reference/S1...
Postdocs Nirbhik Acharya and @jessniblo.bsky.social worked awesomely together to show how disordered regions regulate folded domain interactions that affect UBQLN structure, dynamics, and binding. Illustrating the power of experimental (NMR, SAXS) and computational collabs on full-length proteins!!!
@berlowlab.bsky.social , that is so cool! Thank you!!!
Yeast ubiquilin Dsk2 scaffolds proteasome-containing condensates under stress via multivalent interactions – @castanedalab.bsky.social et al show how dynamic interactions among its STI1 domain & transient helices in its disordered region promote its phase-separation
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Postdocs studying IDPs (disordered proteins) and heading to BPS, apply by Dec 15!
We just wrapped up the 7th Molecular & Cellular Pharmacology Retreat in the Florida Keys, and the energy was incredible.
Under the theme “Colab in the Cays,” scientists from 15+ labs shared 53 talks across two days, with every single participant presenting their work.
Talk titles for IDPSeminars on Dec 4th at noon central time. Alex Holehouse (Washington University in St. Louis): Sequence-to-ensemble with STARLING Birthe Kragelund (University of Copenhagen): Disordered protein complexes and the origins of life
We're back for our final seminar of 2025 with talks from @alexholehouse.bsky.social and Birthe Kragelund! 1 pm EST or 7 pm European time. If you're not already signed up, head on over to idpseminars.com to register!
As the Executive Editor of BBA Reviews on Cancer, I am pleased to announce Call for Nominations: *BBA Rising Stars in Biochemistry & Biophysics 2026*!Nominate outstanding scientists within 10 years of their PhD for this prestigious award. Deadline: Dec 1, 2025.
lnkd.in/dRzrNbJZ
I just made an account and voted for this biology laboratory made of LEGO to "promote biological research and inspire more people into the world of biology". They need 10K votes. Reposting and/or voting below would be helpful. 🤗
beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...
Come work with us at MCW! This position is in the Translational Metabolomics-Preclinical Imaging Shared Resource. This position involves imaging mice, rats and other small animal models with multimodal imaging.
careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/cl...
Super congratulations @alexholehouse.bsky.social ! Super excited for you and your research directions! Congrats!!!
So thrilled for you! Congratulations, @luciastrader.bsky.social !
"What does this curved line mean?"
Like palm reading for your phase boundary.
Plus, when is your condensate actually an oligomer (or vice versa)?
A new preprint from the Schmit Group, in collaboration with Jonathon Ditlev, Les Loew, and @ani-chattaraj.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
If you are a researcher whose lab uses FlyBase, consider a tax-deductible personal contribution. A lot of $100 contributions would help bridge the gap until we can set up a user fee system, and even $10 donations send the folks there the message we're behind them. Please share
New York Times story with profiles of researchers whose grants were terminated.
[Gift Link]
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...
Fun times! Thanks @drhougs.bsky.social
A bar graph of the fraction of NIH non-competitive renewal awards received by month showing that fewer awards that expected to being given.
Update on NIH funding through July (August 1 budget start dates)
Non-competitive renewal awards by month for fiscal year 2025
1/7
Happy RNA Day to those who celebrate! 🧪 It’s AUG 1: the day we Met 🤓
BIG NEWS:
“Senate appropriators on Thursday approved an FY26 Labor-HHS bill that included a slight bump in funding for the NIH, with a strong 26–3 bipartisan vote.”
Thank you to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on both sides of the aisle!
www.axios.com/pro/health-c...
“With these considerations, we expect to fund through the 4th percentile.”
There it is, in black and white, the destruction of cancer research in the US.
Yes I believe so, although the announcement is not planned for a couple more months: grants.gov/search-resul...
New paper on transcription factor phase separation published from my colleague Aseem Ansari's and my lab: Reconciling competing models on the roles of condensates and soluble complexes in transcription factor function authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...