The deep analysis of massive mass spectrometry data has long been a critical challenge in the field of proteomics. Traditional mass spectrometry data analysis methods often exhibit low identification rates due to their inability to effectively search for peptides with unexpected digestion patterns and modifications. We developed the pFind 3 method for deep analysis of mass spectrometry data, which expands the search space by five orders of magnitude, enabling effective searches for peptides with any...

The Hippo pathway has emerged as an evolutionarily conserved signaling network that regulates cell proliferation, tissue homeostasis, and tissue regeneration. We show that the tumor suppressor Merlin, an upstream regulator of the Hippo pathway, forms solid-like condensates that activate Hippo signaling in Drosophila tissues. Merlin condensation required phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI4P)-mediated plasma membrane targeting, and was antagonistically controlled by Pez and cytoskeletal tension through plasma membrane PI4P regulation. The solid-like material properties of Merlin condensates are essential...

In metazoans, both transcription initiation and the escape of RNA polymerase (RNAP) from promoter-proximal pausing are key rate-limiting steps in gene expression.