Joined September 2017
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138 Photos and videos
May 31
The paradigm says that coactivators are passively recruited to targets by transcription factors (TFs). But is that the whole story?
We explore the Mediator subunit Med15 to ask: Do its activator-binding domains (ABDs) alone drive UAS targeting?
biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
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May 31
Analysis of a strain deleted of 12 recruiting TFs showed that a subset of Med15 UAS specificity does not depend on recruiting TFs.
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May 31
We propose a model in which Med15 recruitment is affected by weak ABD-TF interactions and C-terminal interactions with Med2/3, leading to Med15’s UAS specificity.
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Barkai Lab retweeted
Apr 30
How do transcription factors (TFs) that recognize the same DNA motif end up binding different places in the genome? 🧬
We're excited to show you how we tackle this question in our new bioRxiv pre-print!
doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.27.…
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Apr 30
How do transcription factors (TFs) that recognize the same DNA motif end up binding different places in the genome? 🧬
We're excited to show you how we tackle this question in our new bioRxiv pre-print!
doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.27.…
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Apr 30
So what’s driving this genomic selectivity?
Our data point to disordered regions outside the DNA-binding domain as major determinants of binding strength and genomic preference, even in the absence of specific cofactors.
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Apr 30
Our work suggests that TF specificity isn’t just encoded in DNA motifs or chromatin state...
Intrinsic TF features—especially disordered non-DBD regions—play a central role in determining where it binds, highlighting mechanisms beyond motif or chromatin-based models.
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Feb 17
(1/8) Still wondering how low complexity intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) guide transcription factors (TFs) to bind in genomes? Previous studies on sequence grammars; our new @MolCell paper takes the next step: de novo design of functional TF IDRs!
cell.com/molecular-cell/full…
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Feb 17
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Feb 17
(7/8) We’ve moved from observing and perturbing TF IDRs to engineering them from de novo. We’re excited to exploit these grammars for synthetic biology and to see if these "simple rules" hold true across other species and protein classes! 🚀
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Feb 17
(8/8) Huge thanks to the whole Barkai lab for their support and the reviewers for their constructive feedback! And also, happy Chinese New Year! 🐎🎆
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