Received: 18 May 2020 Revised: 30 September 2020 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202000118 THINK AGAIN Insights & Perspectives RNA-protein interactions: Central players in coordination of regulatory networks Alexandros Armaos1,2 Elsa Zacco2 Natalia Sanchez de Groot1 Gian Gaetano Tartaglia1,2,3,4 1 Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain 2 Center for Human Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy 3 Department of Biology ‘Charles Darwin’, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy 4 Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain Correspondence Natalia Sanchez de Groot, Centre for Genomic Abstract Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, Dr. Aiguader 88, Changes in the abundance of protein and RNA molecules can impair the formation of 08003 Barcelona, Spain. complexes in the cell leading to toxicity and death. Here we exploit the information Email:
[email protected] Gian Gaetano Tartaglia, Centre for Human contained in protein, RNA and DNA interaction networks to provide a comprehensive Technologies, Italian Institute of Technology view of the regulation layers controlling the concentration-dependent formation (IIT), Enrico Melen 83, 16152 Genova and Sapienza University, Viale Aldo Moro, 00185, of assemblies in the cell. We present the emerging concept that RNAs can act as Roma, Italy scaffolds to promote the formation ribonucleoprotein complexes and coordinate the Email:
[email protected] post-transcriptional layer of gene regulation. We describe the structural and interac- Funding information tion network properties that characterize the ability of protein and RNA molecules European Research Council, Grant/Award to interact and phase separate in liquid-like compartments.