Complete Phase Diagram for Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

A number of intrinsically disordered proteins have been shown to self-assemble via liquid-liquid phase separation into protein-rich and dilute phases. The resulting coacervates can have important biological functions, and the ability to form these assemblies is dictated by the protein's primary amino acid sequence as well as by the solution conditions. We present a complete phase diagram for the simple coacervation of a polyampholyte intrinsically disordered protein using a field-theoretic simulation approach. We show that differences in the primary amino acid sequence and in the distribution of charged amino acids along the sequence lead to differences in the phase window for coacervation, with block-charged sequences having a larger coacervation window than sequences with a random patterning of charges. The model also captures how changing solution conditions modifies the phase diagram and can serve to guide experimental studies.