The Cell Reports team recently attended the Keystone Symposia on Biological Condensates. The meeting was a great opportunity to learn about the latest developments in this exciting area. In this Voices piece, we asked three researchers in the field how the landscape of biomolecular condensate research is evolving. They emphasize the need for new theoretical frameworks and experimental approaches. They discuss the complex nature of biomolecular condensates formed via phase separation, their emergent properties, and the implications for cellular function and disease.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2024.115076 | DOI Listing |
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The Balbiani body is formed by microtubule-controlled molecular condensation of Buc in early oogenesis.
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Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Medicine, Ein-Kerem Campus, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel; Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada (IMRIC), Ein-Kerem Campus, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel. Electronic address:
Vertebrate oocyte polarity has been observed for two centuries and is essential for embryonic axis formation and germline specification, yet its underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In oocyte polarization, critical RNA-protein (RNP) granules delivered to the oocyte's vegetal pole are stored by the Balbiani body (Bb), a membraneless organelle conserved across species from insects to humans. However, the mechanisms of Bb formation are still unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSelective excitation of bacteria enables growth suppression without antibiotics.
Cell
January 2025
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA; Center for Biomolecular Condensates, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA. Electronic address:
In a recently published article in Device, Saehyun Kim et al. report that selective excitation of bacteria can inhibit their proliferation in an antibiotic-free manner. We herein discuss the molecular and thermodynamic principles underlying this "selective excitability," which provides a new aspect to understand bacterial physiology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMorphogen-induced kinase condensates transduce Hh signal by allosterically activating Gli.
Sci Adv
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Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
Hedgehog (Hh) morphogen governs embryonic development and tissue homeostasis through the Ci/Gli family transcription factors. Here we report that Hh induces phase separation of the fused (Fu)/Ulk family kinases to allosterically regulate Ci/Gli. We find that Hh-induced phosphorylation of Fu/Ulk3 promotes SUMOylation of their inverted phosphorylation-dependent SUMOylation motifs.
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Institute of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
One of the hypothesized functions of biomolecular condensates is to act as chemical reactors, where chemical reactions can be modulated, i.e., accelerated or slowed down, while substrate molecules enter and products exit from the condensate.
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State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) drives the formation of membraneless intracellular compartments within both cytoplasm and nucleus. These compartments can form distinct physicochemical environments, and in particular display different concentrations of proteins, RNA, and macromolecules compared to the surrounding cytosol. Recent studies have highlighted the significant role of aberrant LLPS in cancer development and progression, impacting many core processes such as oncogenic signalling pathways, transcriptional dysregulation, and genome instability.
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