Membrane-bound organelles versus membrane-less compartments and their control of anabolic pathways in Drosophila

Abstract

Classically, we think of cell compartmentalization as being achieved by membrane-bound organelles. It has nevertheless emerged that membrane-less assemblies also largely contribute to this compartmentalization. Here, we compare the characteristics of both types of compartmentalization in term of maintenance of functional identities. Furthermore, membrane less-compartments are critical for sustaining developmental and cell biological events as they control major metabolic pathways. We describe two examples related to this issue in Drosophila, the role of P-bodies in the translational control of gurken in the Drosophila oocyte, and the formation of Sec bodies upon amino-acid starvation in Drosophila cells.

Keywords: COPII; Cell compartmentalization; Drosophila; ER exit sites; FMR1; Liquid droplets; Liquid-liquid phase separation; Low complexity sequence; Membrane-bound organelles; Membrane-less compartments; Oocyte; Orb; PARP16; S2 cells; Sec16; Secretory pathway; Stress granule; gurken translation; mRNA.