Protein disorder, prion propensities, and self-organizing macromolecular collectives

► Many prion-like sequences are intrinsically disordered protein interaction domains. ► They promote phase transitions and the formation of large macromolecular assemblies. ► Prion-like domains may be essential for the spatiotemporal organization of the cell. ► The structural flexibility also makes them prone to misfold and aggregate. ► As a consequence, they are emerging as causes of protein misfolding diseases.