Condensation of the fusion focus by the intrinsically disordered region of the formin Fus1 is essential for cell-cell fusion

Abstract

Spatial accumulation of secretory vesicles underlies various cellular processes, such as neurotransmitter release at neuronal synapses [1], hyphal steering in filamentous fungi [2, 3], and local cell wall digestion preceding the fusion of yeast gametes [4]. Secretory vesicles transported on actin filaments by myosin V motors form clusters that serve as pool for local content release. During fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe gamete fusion, the actin fusion focus assembled by the formin Fus1 concentrates secretory vesicles carrying cell wall digestive enzymes [5-7]. Focus position and coalescence are controlled by local signalling and actin-binding proteins to prevent inappropriate cell wall digestion that would cause lysis [6, 8-10], but the mechanisms of focusing have been elusive. Here, we show that the regulatory N-terminus of Fus1 contains an intrinsically disordered region (IDR) that mediates Fus1 condensation in vivo and forms dense assemblies that exclude other macromolecules. Fus1 lacking its IDR fails to condense in a tight focus and causes cell lysis during attempted cell fusion. Remarkably, replacement of Fus1 IDR with a heterologous low-complexity region that forms liquid condensates fully restores Fus1 condensation and function. By contrast, replacement of Fus1 IDR with a domain that forms more stable oligomers restores condensation but poorly supports cell fusion, suggesting that condensation is tuned to yield a structure selectively permeable for secretory vesicles. We propose that condensation of actin structures by an intrinsically disordered region may be a general mechanism for actin network organisation and the selective local concentration of secretory vesicles.