Constructor University Assistant Professor Felix Jonas Publishes Review in Nature Reviews Genetics

An expert review led by Assistant Professor Felix Jonas of Constructor University in collaboration with co-authors Yoav Navon and Naama Barkai from the Weizmann Institute has been published in the June 2025 issue of Nature Reviews Genetics, offering new perspectives on how protein regions without a stable structure still enhance DNA target search efficiency of transcription factors.

A new article authored by Assistant Professor Felix Jonas (Biochemistry, School of Science, Constructor University) appears in Nature Reviews Genetics, Volume 26, Issue 6 (June 2025), under the title: “Intrinsically disordered regions as facilitators of the transcription factor target search.”

In this work, Felix Jonas and his co-authors critically review how intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs)—segments of proteins without fixed 3D structure—play a pivotal role in enabling transcription factors (TFs) to efficiently locate their target binding sites on DNA and thereby challenge the conventional structure-function paradigm.

“Coming from a background rooted in the structure–function paradigm, I was intrigued to realize that these often neglected protein segments function not just as passive linkers but as active participants in regulating genes,” Felix Jonas remarked.

The review highlights key advances in understanding how IDRs function. Notably, IDRs—despite lacking defined structure and sequence conservation—still contribute to the specificity of DNA binding. Recent experimental and computational approaches are beginning to reveal the underlying sequence–function grammar that governs their behavior. Furthermore, IDRs are increasingly implicated in processes such as phase separation, biomolecular co-localization, and direct interaction with DNA.

The article was first published online on 21 February 2025 and now appears in the June 2025 print issue of Nature Reviews Genetics.

Access the article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41576-025-00816-3

About the Author

Felix Jonas is Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Constructor University in Bremen, Germany. His research focuses on the molecular grammar of protein disorder and its role in transcriptional regulation, and genome binding.