Investigating Cell Signalings by Molecular Condensation in Space and Time.

The investigation of cell signalings by molecular condensation is an emerging area of research. While previous studies have provided a strong foundation for understanding signaling transductions, such as deciphering the components of specific cascades or the pyramid network of signaling events, there is still much to be explored regarding their functional assembly status. One of the key challenges in this field is understanding the highly dynamic nature of the regulation of activation, inhibition, tuning, and crosstalk of signaling events by distinct biomolecular assembly, which evolves in space and time.

An emerging principle underlying the dynamic regulation of cell signaling is the tunable multivalent interactions and molecular condensation of signaling components. Our lab is uniquely equipped to investigate protein interactions and molecular condensation using quantitative biochemical and biophysical systems, advanced microscopic imaging, machine-learning approaches, and collaboration with computational and theoretical experts. This has given us an advantage in answering both old and new questions in this area.

1. We investigate how macromolecular condensation of polarisome complexes regulates the polymerization and network formation of the actin cytoskeleton in filamentous fungi, and how this process is crucial for polarized growth during fungal development and host infection.
2. We study the interaction between plants and microbes, specifically the generation of distinct immune signaling hubs in response to pathogen recognition, which activate signal transduction or bridge signal pathways through molecular condensation on the two-dimensional plasma membrane surface. We are particularly interested in understanding how plant mechanobiology regulates the assembly, condensation, and thereby the biocatalysis of these signaling hubs by tuning the physiochemical properties of the cell wall-plasma membrane-actin cytoskeleton continuum during plant-microbe interaction. Additionally, we are developing AI-assisted prediction of molecular condensation to guide synthetic engineering and translate our fundamental understanding to novel agri-technologies for sustainable agriculture.