Decoding the physical principles of two-component biomolecular phase separation
Cells possess a multiplicity of non-membrane-bound compartments, which form via liquid-liquid phase separation. These condensates assemble and dissolve as needed to enable central cellular functions. One important class of condensates is those composed of two associating polymer species that form on...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2021-03-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/62403 |
| _version_ | 1797991919947612160 |
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| author | Yaojun Zhang Bin Xu Benjamin G Weiner Yigal Meir Ned S Wingreen |
| author_facet | Yaojun Zhang Bin Xu Benjamin G Weiner Yigal Meir Ned S Wingreen |
| author_sort | Yaojun Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cells possess a multiplicity of non-membrane-bound compartments, which form via liquid-liquid phase separation. These condensates assemble and dissolve as needed to enable central cellular functions. One important class of condensates is those composed of two associating polymer species that form one-to-one specific bonds. What are the physical principles that underlie phase separation in such systems? To address this question, we employed coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to examine how the phase boundaries depend on polymer valence, stoichiometry, and binding strength. We discovered a striking phenomenon – for sufficiently strong binding, phase separation is suppressed at rational polymer stoichiometries, which we termed the magic-ratio effect. We further developed an analytical dimer-gel theory that confirmed the magic-ratio effect and disentangled the individual roles of polymer properties in shaping the phase diagram. Our work provides new insights into the factors controlling the phase diagrams of biomolecular condensates, with implications for natural and synthetic systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T08:59:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d81782be91ee4778ae794ec7182414e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T08:59:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-d81782be91ee4778ae794ec7182414e02022-12-22T04:32:49ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2021-03-011010.7554/eLife.62403Decoding the physical principles of two-component biomolecular phase separationYaojun Zhang0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4587-6834Bin Xu1Benjamin G Weiner2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1995-8660Yigal Meir3Ned S Wingreen4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7384-2821Center for the Physics of Biological Function, Princeton University, Princeton, United StatesDepartment of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, United StatesDepartment of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, United StatesDepartment of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, United States; Department of Physics, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel; Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, United StatesDepartment of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States; Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, United StatesCells possess a multiplicity of non-membrane-bound compartments, which form via liquid-liquid phase separation. These condensates assemble and dissolve as needed to enable central cellular functions. One important class of condensates is those composed of two associating polymer species that form one-to-one specific bonds. What are the physical principles that underlie phase separation in such systems? To address this question, we employed coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to examine how the phase boundaries depend on polymer valence, stoichiometry, and binding strength. We discovered a striking phenomenon – for sufficiently strong binding, phase separation is suppressed at rational polymer stoichiometries, which we termed the magic-ratio effect. We further developed an analytical dimer-gel theory that confirmed the magic-ratio effect and disentangled the individual roles of polymer properties in shaping the phase diagram. Our work provides new insights into the factors controlling the phase diagrams of biomolecular condensates, with implications for natural and synthetic systems.https://elifesciences.org/articles/62403phase separationbiomolecular condensatesassociative polymersmolecular dynamics simulations |
| spellingShingle | Yaojun Zhang Bin Xu Benjamin G Weiner Yigal Meir Ned S Wingreen Decoding the physical principles of two-component biomolecular phase separation eLife phase separation biomolecular condensates associative polymers molecular dynamics simulations |
| title | Decoding the physical principles of two-component biomolecular phase separation |
| title_full | Decoding the physical principles of two-component biomolecular phase separation |
| title_fullStr | Decoding the physical principles of two-component biomolecular phase separation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Decoding the physical principles of two-component biomolecular phase separation |
| title_short | Decoding the physical principles of two-component biomolecular phase separation |
| title_sort | decoding the physical principles of two component biomolecular phase separation |
| topic | phase separation biomolecular condensates associative polymers molecular dynamics simulations |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/62403 |
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