ArticleScientific reports2021
Size conservation emerges spontaneously in biomolecular condensates formed by scaffolds and surfactant clients.
Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- Redox-Dependent Chaperoning of GBF1 Condensates Regulates Seed Germination in Arabidopsis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Direct observation and quantification of single nanocondensates of the low complexity domain of TDP-43.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Multiscale structure of chromatin condensates explains phase separation and material properties.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- A systems toxicology approach implicates post-transcriptional regulatory networks in reproductive defects from PFAS exposure.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2025Article
- Of condensates and coats - reciprocal regulation of clathrin assembly and the growth of protein networks.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Charged peptides enriched in aromatic residues decelerate condensate ageing driven by cross-β-sheet formation.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Current practices in the study of biomolecular condensates: a community comment.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Biomolecular condensates in plant immunity.Cell host & microbe · 2025Review
- A disordered linker in the Polycomb protein Polyhomeotic tunes phase separation and oligomerization.Molecular cell · 2025Article
- Of condensates and coats - reciprocal regulation of clathrin assembly and the growth of protein networks.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Phase separation and viral factories: unveiling the physical processes supporting RNA packaging in dsRNA viruses.Biochemical Society transactions · 2024Review
- VUS next in rare diseases? Deciphering genetic determinants of biomolecular condensation.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2024Review
- Transcription factor condensates and signaling driven transcription.Nucleus (Austin, Tex.) · 2023Review
- Influence of HIV-1 Genomic RNA on the Formation of Gag Biomolecular Condensates.Journal of molecular biology · 2023Article
- Fluorescent protein lifetimes report densities and phases of nuclear condensates during embryonic stem-cell differentiation.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Theoretical and Data-Driven Approaches for Biomolecular Condensates.Chemical reviews · 2023Review
- Surfactants or scaffolds? RNAs of varying lengths control the thermodynamic stability of condensates differently.Biophysical journal · 2023Article
- Time-Dependent Material Properties of Aging Biomolecular Condensates from Different Viscoelasticity Measurements in Molecular Dynamics Simulations.The journal of physical chemistry. B · 2023Article
- DAmFRET measures saturating concentrations and toxicities of protein phase transitions in vivo.Molecular biology of the cell · 2023Article
- Thermodynamic origins of two-component multiphase condensates of proteins.Chemical science · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Biomolecular condensates are liquid-like membraneless compartments that contribute to the spatiotemporal organization of proteins, RNA, and other biomolecules inside cells. Some membraneless compartments, such as nucleoli, are dispersed as different condensates that do not grow beyond a certain size, or do not present coalescence over time. In this work, using a minimal protein model, we show that phase separation of binary mixtures of scaffolds and low-valency clients that can act as surfactants-i.e., that significantly reduce the droplet surface tension-can yield either a single drop or multiple droplets that conserve their sizes on long timescales (herein 'multidroplet size-conserved' scenario'), depending on the scaffold to client ratio. Our simulations demonstrate that protein connectivity and condensate surface tension regulate the balance between these two scenarios. The multidroplet size-conserved scenario spontaneously arises at increasing surfactant-to-scaffold concentrations, when the interfacial penalty for creating small liquid droplets is sufficiently reduced by the surfactant proteins that are preferentially located at the interface. In contrast, low surfactant-to-scaffold concentrations enable continuous growth and fusion of droplets without restrictions. Overall, our work proposes one thermodynamic mechanism to help rationalize how size-conserved coexisting condensates can persist inside cells-shedding light on the roles of protein connectivity, binding affinity, and droplet composition in this process.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.