Molecular Condensation in Cell Signaling

The Miao laboratory conducts interdisciplinary research on the fundamental mechanisms of molecular condensation- and mechanical force-regulated actin remodeling in cells, lipid compartmentalization, and plant immune responses to microbial infections. Our group integrates advanced multiscale imaging down to single molecules, biochemistry, biophysics, multiscale modeling, machine learning, and lipid bilayer-based in vitro reconstitution to bridge molecular-scale information with observations in plant physiology, pathology, and cell biology.

 

PhaseHub: Systems Biology and Machine-learning Integrated Engine for Multicomponent Phase Separation  (https://phasehub.sbs.ntu.edu.sg/)

Qiyu Liang, Weibo Gao, Yansong Miao* (2025) From Pan-Life Phase Insights to PhaseHub: Analyzing Condensate Complexity.  bioRxiv

 

 

Phase Separation of Magnaporthe SPA2 Organizes Actin Nucleation Center for Hyphae Growth and Rice Infection.

Danxia He#Yuanbao Li#Qianqian MaLibo HanDingzhong Tang*Yansong Miao* (2025) Phase-separating MoSpa2 Complex Organizes Actin Nucleation Center for M.oryzae Plant Infection. The Plant Cell

 

Bacterial Effector XopR Subverts RIN4-condensation-mediated Defense via Percolation

Xinlu Zhu, Weibing Wang, Simou Sun, Choon-Peng Chng, Kexin Zhu, Yi Xie, Danxia He, Qiyu Liang, Xi Wu, Weibo Gao, Ali Miserez, Jing Yu, Changjin Huang, Jay T. Groves, Yansong Miao* (2025) Bacterial XopR Hijacks RIN4 Complex-mediated Plant Immunity via Plasma Membrane-associated Percolation. Development Cell

 

 

Transcriptional Factor Activation from Resting Diffusive State to Activate Nano-condensation State for Flowering

Xiang Huang, Zhiming Ma, Danxia He, Xiao Han, Xu Liu, Qiong Dong, Cuirong Tan, Bin Yu, Tiedong Sun, Lanyuan Lu, Lars Nordenskiöld, Yansong Miao*, Xingliang Hou* (2024) Phase separation of the CO/NF-YB/NF-YC/FT complex gates plant floral transition. EMBO Journal

 

Molphase: Machine-learning Based Phase Separation Predictor

Qiyu Liang#, Nana Peng#, Yi Xie, Nivedita Kumar, Weibo Gao, Yansong Miao* (2024)  MolPhase: An Advanced Phase Separation Predictor and an Investigation of Phytobacterial Effector in Plant. EMBO Journal 

 

Remodeling ADP-F-actin during Energy Starvation via Molecular Condensation 

Qianqian Ma, Wahyu Surya, Danxia He, Hanmeng Yang, Xiao Han, Mui Hoon Nai, Chwee Teck Lim, Jaume Torres, Yansong Miao* (2024) Spa2 remodels ADP-actin via molecular condensation under glucose starvation. Nature Communications 

 

IDR Finetunes Coronin Oligomerization for Actin Polymerization

Xiao Han#, Zixin Hu#, Wahyu Surya, Qianqian Ma, Feng Zhou, Lars Nordenskiöld, Jaume Torres, Lanyuan Lu, Yansong Miao* (2023) The Intrinsically Disordered Region of Coronins Fine Tunes Oligomerization and Actin Polymerization. Cell Report

 

 

Nanodomain-mediated OMV uptake during plant-bacteria interaction

Tuan Minh Tran#, Choon-Peng Chng#, Xiaoming Pu, Zhiming Ma, Xiao Han, Xiaolin Liu, Liang Yang, Changjin Huang*, Yansong Miao*. (2022) Potentiation of plant defense by bacterial outer membrane vesicles is mediated by nanodomain assembly. The Plant Cell

 

Molecular condensation of Formin complex within nanodomain remodels actin assembly during plant innate immunity

Zhiming Ma, Yanbiao Sun, Xinlu Zhu, Liang Yang, Xu Chen, Yansong Miao(2022) Membrane nanodomains modulate formin condensation for actin remodeling in Arabidopsis innate immune responses. The Plant Cell 

 

Two-dimensional phase separation of the bacterial effector XopR hijacks host actin remodeling spatiotemporally during host-pathogen communications

He Sun, Xinlu Zhu, Chuanxi Li, Zhiming Ma, Xiao Han, Yuanyuan Luo, Liang Yang, Jing Yu, Yansong Miao* (2021) Xanthomonas Effector XopR Hijacks Host Actin Cytoskeleton Via Complex Coacervation. Nature Communications

 

Nano-scale molecular condensation of formin on the plant plasma membrane triggers rapid actin remodeling during immune responses.

Zhiming Ma, Xiaolin Liu, Sangeeta Nath, He Sun, Tuan Minh Tran, Liang Yang, Satyajit Mayor, Yansong Miao* (2021) Formin Nano-clustering Mediated Actin Assembly during Plant flagellin and DSF-signalings. Cell Reports 34, 108884


The bacterial molecule  hijacks plant sterol biosynthesis to suppress plant innate immunity

Tuan Minh Tran, Zhiming Ma, Alexander Triebl, Sangeeta Nath, Yingying Cheng, Ben-Qiang Gong, Xiao Han, Junqi Wang, Jian-Feng Li, Markus R. Wenk, Federico Torta, Satyajit Mayor, Liang Yang, Yansong Miao*. (2020) The bacterial quorum sensing signal DSF hijacks Arabidopsis thaliana sterol biosynthesis to suppress plant innate immunity. Life Science Alliance 3, 1857.


Molecular Condensation of Actin Nucleation Proteins during Stress Adaptation in Yeast

Ying Xie#, Jialin Sun#, Xiao Han, Alma Turšić-Wunder, Joel D.W. Toh, Wanjin Hong, Yong-Gui Gao*, Yansong Miao* (2019) Polarisome scaffolder Spa2-mediated macromolecular condensation of Aip5 for actin polymerization. Nature Communications 10:5078


 

Profilin Negatively Regulate Actin Assembly during Arabidopsis Immune Responses via N-terminal IDR

He Sun, Zhu Qiao, Khi Pin Chua, Alma Tursic, Xu Liu, Yong-Gui Gao, Yuguang Mu, Xingliang Hou, Yansong Miao (2018) Profilin negatively regulates formin-mediated actin assembly to modulate PAMP-triggered plant immunity. Current Biology 28, 1-14.

 

Reconstitution of Actin Assembly in Cell-free Extract

reconsitution Figure 3        Reconstitution of Actin Cable

Reconstitution of F-actin assembly in yeast cell-free extracts. 


Yansong Miao, Catherine C.L. Wong, Vito Mennella, Alphée Michelot, Michael Costanzo, Charles Boone, David A. Agard, Liam J. Holt, John R. Yates, III and David G. Drubin (2013) Cell cycle regulation of formin-mediated actin cable assembly. PNAS, 110:E4446-55 (Cover)

 

Cdk1 Phospho-regulates Yeast Fimbrin Sac6 in Actin Crosslinking via N-terminal IDR 

 Fig 2-1     Actin bundling example

Cell cycle and F-actin (3D-SIM)                                Actin Bundling by Sac6 (TEM)

Sac6 for NTU1

Yansong Miao*, Xuemei Han, Liangzhen Zheng, Ying Xie, Yuguang Mu, John R. Yates, III, and David G. Drubin (2016) Fimbrin phosphorylation by metaphase Cdk1 regulates actin cable dynamics in budding yeast, Nature Communications 7: 11265.