{
  "abstract": "How microtubule (MT) growth is locally sustained within cilia remains a central unanswered question in ciliogenesis. Here we identify RAT-1 as a regulator of ciliary tubulin homeostasis and MT growth. Genetic screens in Caenorhabditis elegans show that loss of RAT-1 suppresses the toxic effects of a mutant -tubulin and restores ciliary structure, while RAT-1 deficiency reduces tubulin turnover at the ciliary tip, indicating its physiological role in tuning ciliary MT dynamics. Mechanistically, RAT-1 forms intra-ciliary condensates selectively at the distal region through an auto-inhibitory -helix and phosphorylation by the distally localized ciliary kinase. RAT-1 enriches tubulin within condensates in vivo/vitro, and cooperates with end-binding proteins to facilitate sustained MT growth in vitro. Notably, heterologous expression of worm RAT-1 reveals conserved condensate behavior within mammalian cilia. Our findings reveal a kinase-regulated mechanism controlling RAT-1 condensation within cilia and establish RAT-1 as a regulator of ciliary MT dynamics.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "K. XU"
    },
    {
      "name": "Z. Zhu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Y. Chai"
    },
    {
      "name": "W. Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "G. Ou"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/70zm4z2dvw56g.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.09.14.751438",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.14.751438v1.full",
  "id": "70zm4z2dvw56g",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.14.751438v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "cell biology"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1311|Genetic and Kidney Cyst Diseases"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213656819",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.14.751438v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-14",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/70zm4z2dvw56g.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:23:11Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.09.14.751438",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.14.751438v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:cell biology",
      "subfield": "cell-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Spatially Confined Phase Separation Promotes Local Tubulin Availability to Stabilize Ciliary Microtubule Growth",
  "title_text": "Spatially Confined Phase Separation Promotes Local Tubulin Availability to Stabilize Ciliary Microtubule Growth",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:23:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/70zm4z2dvw56g",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}