Recent trends in studies of biomolecular phase separation

Abstract

Biomolecular phase separation has recently attracted broad interest, due to its role in the spatiotemporal compartmentalization of living cells. It governs the formation, regulation, and dissociation of biomolecular condensates, which play multiple roles in vivo, from activating specific biochemical reactions to organizing chromatin. Interestingly, biomolecular phase separation seems to be a mainly passive process, which can be explained by relatively simple physical principles and reproduced in vitro with a minimal set of components. This Mini review focuses on our current understanding of the fundamental principles of biomolecular phase separation and the recent progress in the research on this topic. [BMB Reports 2022; 55(8): 363-369].

Fig. 1

Schematic of a typical phase diagram. The coexistence line (black) denotes the boundary between the one-phase regime (A, E) and the two-phase regime (B-D). In the two-phase regime, two distinct phases can be observed: the protein-rich phase and solvent-rich phase. The molecular network formed by stickers is shown as a driving force for phase separation.

Fig. 2

Recent trends in the research of biomolecular phase separation.