Biomolecular condensates are micron-scale compartments in eukaryotic cells that operate to concentrate proteins and nucleic acids but lack surrounding membranes (membraneless). RNA metabolism, ribosome biogenesis, the DNA damage response, and signal transmission are all affected by these condensates. Recent research has discovered that multivalent macromolecular interactions promote liquid-liquid phase separation, which is a fundamental organizing principle for biomolecular condensates (28225081 , 31675499).The first membraneless compartment was observed within the nucleus of neuronal cells in the 1830s and was later termed the nucleolus (21106648). Since then, many such compartments have been discovered in the nucleus, cytoplasm and on membranes of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.
References
Banani SF, Lee HO, Hyman AA, Rosen MK. Biomolecular condensates: organizers of cellular biochemistry. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2017 May;18(5):285-298. doi: 10.1038/nrm.2017.7. Epub 2017 Feb 22. PMID: 28225081; PMCID: PMC7434221.
Beutel O, Maraspini R, Pombo-García K, Martin-Lemaitre C, Honigmann A. Phase Separation of Zonula Occludens Proteins Drives Formation of Tight Junctions. Cell. 2019 Oct 31;179(4):923-936.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.10.011. PMID: 31675499.
Pederson T. The nucleolus. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2011 Mar 1;3(3):a000638. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a000638. PMID: 21106648; PMCID: PMC3039934.