Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 373, Issue 6560, Pages 1218-+Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.abg7071
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This study reveals that the dynamics of biomolecular condensates are regulated by protein clusters. Through experiments and theory, it is demonstrated that the assembly of P granules is controlled by MEG-3 protein, which helps lower surface tension and slow down coarsening.
Biomolecular condensates are cellular compartments that can form by phase separation in the absence of limiting membranes. Studying the P granules of Caenorhabditis elegans, we find that condensate dynamics are regulated by protein clusters that adsorb to the condensate interface. Using in vitro reconstitution, live observations, and theory, we demonstrate that localized assembly of P granules is controlled by MEG-3, an intrinsically disordered protein that forms low dynamic assemblies on P granules. Following classic Pickering emulsion theory, MEG-3 clusters lower surface tension and slow down coarsening. During zygote polarization, MEG-3 recruits the DYRK family kinase MBK-2 to accelerate spatially regulated growth of the P granule emulsion. By tuning condensate-cytoplasm exchange, interfacial clusters regulate the structural integrity of biomolecular condensates, reminiscent of the role of lipid bilayers in membrane-bound organelles.
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