Quantitative theory for the diffusive dynamics of liquid condensates
Key processes of biological condensates are diffusion and material exchange with their environment. Experimentally, diffusive dynamics are typically probed via fluorescent labels. However, to date, a physics-based, quantitative framework for the dynamics of labeled condensate components is lacking....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2021-10-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/68620 |
| _version_ | 1828382753569112064 |
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| author | Lars Hubatsch Louise M Jawerth Celina Love Jonathan Bauermann TY Dora Tang Stefano Bo Anthony A Hyman Christoph A Weber |
| author_facet | Lars Hubatsch Louise M Jawerth Celina Love Jonathan Bauermann TY Dora Tang Stefano Bo Anthony A Hyman Christoph A Weber |
| author_sort | Lars Hubatsch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Key processes of biological condensates are diffusion and material exchange with their environment. Experimentally, diffusive dynamics are typically probed via fluorescent labels. However, to date, a physics-based, quantitative framework for the dynamics of labeled condensate components is lacking. Here, we derive the corresponding dynamic equations, building on the physics of phase separation, and quantitatively validate the related framework via experiments. We show that by using our framework, we can precisely determine diffusion coefficients inside liquid condensates via a spatio-temporal analysis of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) experiments. We showcase the accuracy and precision of our approach by considering space- and time-resolved data of protein condensates and two different polyelectrolyte-coacervate systems. Interestingly, our theory can also be used to determine a relationship between the diffusion coefficient in the dilute phase and the partition coefficient, without relying on fluorescence measurements in the dilute phase. This enables us to investigate the effect of salt addition on partitioning and bypasses recently described quenching artifacts in the dense phase. Our approach opens new avenues for theoretically describing molecule dynamics in condensates, measuring concentrations based on the dynamics of fluorescence intensities, and quantifying rates of biochemical reactions in liquid condensates. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T04:37:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eb40ee1913f644cab05a643ca5e29dae |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T04:37:59Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb40ee1913f644cab05a643ca5e29dae2022-12-22T02:01:58ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2021-10-011010.7554/eLife.68620Quantitative theory for the diffusive dynamics of liquid condensatesLars Hubatsch0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1934-7437Louise M Jawerth1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7221-939XCelina Love2Jonathan Bauermann3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0301-7655TY Dora Tang4Stefano Bo5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2738-867XAnthony A Hyman6Christoph A Weber7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6279-0405Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany; Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, GermanyMax Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, GermanyMax Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, GermanyMax Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, GermanyMax Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, GermanyMax Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, GermanyMax Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany; Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, GermanyMax Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany; Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, GermanyKey processes of biological condensates are diffusion and material exchange with their environment. Experimentally, diffusive dynamics are typically probed via fluorescent labels. However, to date, a physics-based, quantitative framework for the dynamics of labeled condensate components is lacking. Here, we derive the corresponding dynamic equations, building on the physics of phase separation, and quantitatively validate the related framework via experiments. We show that by using our framework, we can precisely determine diffusion coefficients inside liquid condensates via a spatio-temporal analysis of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) experiments. We showcase the accuracy and precision of our approach by considering space- and time-resolved data of protein condensates and two different polyelectrolyte-coacervate systems. Interestingly, our theory can also be used to determine a relationship between the diffusion coefficient in the dilute phase and the partition coefficient, without relying on fluorescence measurements in the dilute phase. This enables us to investigate the effect of salt addition on partitioning and bypasses recently described quenching artifacts in the dense phase. Our approach opens new avenues for theoretically describing molecule dynamics in condensates, measuring concentrations based on the dynamics of fluorescence intensities, and quantifying rates of biochemical reactions in liquid condensates.https://elifesciences.org/articles/68620phase separationFRAPquantitative modelling |
| spellingShingle | Lars Hubatsch Louise M Jawerth Celina Love Jonathan Bauermann TY Dora Tang Stefano Bo Anthony A Hyman Christoph A Weber Quantitative theory for the diffusive dynamics of liquid condensates eLife phase separation FRAP quantitative modelling |
| title | Quantitative theory for the diffusive dynamics of liquid condensates |
| title_full | Quantitative theory for the diffusive dynamics of liquid condensates |
| title_fullStr | Quantitative theory for the diffusive dynamics of liquid condensates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantitative theory for the diffusive dynamics of liquid condensates |
| title_short | Quantitative theory for the diffusive dynamics of liquid condensates |
| title_sort | quantitative theory for the diffusive dynamics of liquid condensates |
| topic | phase separation FRAP quantitative modelling |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/68620 |
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