The intrinsically disordered N-terminal region of eIF5B nucleates RNA-driven phase separation

eIF5B’s intrinsically disordered N-terminal region nucleates RNA-driven condensates at physiological concentrations, with a central arginine-rich core (residues ~200–400) driving condensation.

• Why it matters: The work addresses what physical mechanism underlies eIF5B puncta during cellular stress and how that could promote alternative translation initiation.
• What they did: Using a purified binary in vitro reconstitution, the authors tested phase separation by eIF5B-NTR with RNA and mapped sequence requirements, including truncations and a core region (residues ~200–400).
• The result: eIF5B-NTR forms RNA-driven condensates and liquid-liquid condensates in vitro, while the arginine-rich core alone yields nearly static droplets; cellular tests were used to assess relevance.

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