TY - JOUR
T1 - Current practices in the study of biomolecular condensates
T2 - a community comment
AU - Alberti, Simon
AU - Arosio, Paolo
AU - Best, Robert B.
AU - Boeynaems, Steven
AU - Cai, Danfeng
AU - Collepardo-Guevara, Rosana
AU - Dignon, Gregory L.
AU - Dimova, Rumiana
AU - Elbaum-Garfinkle, Shana
AU - Fawzi, Nicolas L.
AU - Fuxreiter, Monika
AU - Gladfelter, Amy S.
AU - Honigmann, Alf
AU - Jain, Ankur
AU - Joseph, Jerelle A.
AU - Knowles, Tuomas P.J.
AU - Lasker, Keren
AU - Lemke, Edward A.
AU - Lindorff-Larsen, Kresten
AU - Lipowsky, Reinhard
AU - Mittal, Jeetain
AU - Mukhopadhyay, Samrat
AU - Myong, Sua
AU - Pappu, Rohit V.
AU - Rippe, Karsten
AU - Shelkovnikova, Tatyana A.
AU - Vecchiarelli, Anthony G.
AU - Wegmann, Susanne
AU - Zhang, Huaiying
AU - Zhang, Mingjie
AU - Zubieta, Chloe
AU - Zweckstetter, Markus
AU - Dormann, Dorothee
AU - Mittag, Tanja
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - The realization that the cell is abundantly compartmentalized into biomolecular condensates has opened new opportunities for understanding the physics and chemistry underlying many cellular processes1, fundamentally changing the study of biology2. The term biomolecular condensate refers to non-stoichiometric assemblies that are composed of multiple types of macromolecules in cells, occur through phase transitions, and can be investigated by using concepts from soft matter physics3. As such, they are intimately related to aqueous two-phase systems4 and water-in-water emulsions5. Condensates possess tunable emergent properties such as interfaces, interfacial tension, viscoelasticity, network structure, dielectric permittivity, and sometimes interphase pH gradients and electric potentials6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13–14. They can form spontaneously in response to specific cellular conditions or to active processes, and cells appear to have mechanisms to control their size and location15, 16–17. Importantly, in contrast to membrane-enclosed organelles such as mitochondria or peroxisomes, condensates do not require the presence of a surrounding membrane.
AB - The realization that the cell is abundantly compartmentalized into biomolecular condensates has opened new opportunities for understanding the physics and chemistry underlying many cellular processes1, fundamentally changing the study of biology2. The term biomolecular condensate refers to non-stoichiometric assemblies that are composed of multiple types of macromolecules in cells, occur through phase transitions, and can be investigated by using concepts from soft matter physics3. As such, they are intimately related to aqueous two-phase systems4 and water-in-water emulsions5. Condensates possess tunable emergent properties such as interfaces, interfacial tension, viscoelasticity, network structure, dielectric permittivity, and sometimes interphase pH gradients and electric potentials6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13–14. They can form spontaneously in response to specific cellular conditions or to active processes, and cells appear to have mechanisms to control their size and location15, 16–17. Importantly, in contrast to membrane-enclosed organelles such as mitochondria or peroxisomes, condensates do not require the presence of a surrounding membrane.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105013782623
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105013782623#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-025-62055-8
DO - 10.1038/s41467-025-62055-8
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 40830340
AN - SCOPUS:105013782623
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 16
JO - Nature communications
JF - Nature communications
IS - 1
M1 - 7730
ER -