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Current practices in the study of biomolecular condensates: a community comment

Author

Listed:
  • Simon Alberti

    (Technische Universität Dresden)

  • Paolo Arosio

    (ETH Zurich)

  • Robert B. Best

    (National Institutes of Health)

  • Steven Boeynaems

    (Baylor College of Medicine
    Texas Children’s Hospital
    Baylor College of Medicine
    Baylor College of Medicine)

  • Danfeng Cai

    (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health)

  • Rosana Collepardo-Guevara

    (Lensfield Road
    Downing Pl)

  • Gregory L. Dignon

    (State University of New Jersey)

  • Rumiana Dimova

    (Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces)

  • Shana Elbaum-Garfinkle

    (CUNY
    Graduate Center of the City University of New York)

  • Nicolas L. Fawzi

    (Brown University)

  • Monika Fuxreiter

    (University of Padova
    University of Padova)

  • Amy S. Gladfelter

    (Duke University)

  • Alf Honigmann

    (Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB))

  • Ankur Jain

    (Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research)

  • Jerelle A. Joseph

    (Princeton University)

  • Tuomas P. J. Knowles

    (Lensfield Road)

  • Keren Lasker

    (The Scripps Research Institute)

  • Edward A. Lemke

    (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
    Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB gGmbH))

  • Kresten Lindorff-Larsen

    (University of Copenhagen)

  • Reinhard Lipowsky

    (Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces)

  • Jeetain Mittal

    (Texas A&M University)

  • Samrat Mukhopadhyay

    (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)
    Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER))

  • Sua Myong

    (Boston Children’s Hospital)

  • Rohit V. Pappu

    (Washington University in St. Louis)

  • Karsten Rippe

    (Division of Chromatin Networks
    Heidelberg University)

  • Tatyana A. Shelkovnikova

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Anthony G. Vecchiarelli

    (University of Michigan)

  • Susanne Wegmann

    (German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE))

  • Huaiying Zhang

    (Carnegie Mellon University)

  • Mingjie Zhang

    (Southern University of Science and Technology)

  • Chloe Zubieta

    (Commissariat à lʼénergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)
    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS))

  • Markus Zweckstetter

    (Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences
    German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE))

  • Dorothee Dormann

    (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
    Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB gGmbH))

  • Tanja Mittag

    (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital)

Abstract

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 potentials6–14. 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 location15–17. Importantly, in contrast to membrane-enclosed organelles such as mitochondria or peroxisomes, condensates do not require the presence of a surrounding membrane.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Alberti & Paolo Arosio & Robert B. Best & Steven Boeynaems & Danfeng Cai & Rosana Collepardo-Guevara & Gregory L. Dignon & Rumiana Dimova & Shana Elbaum-Garfinkle & Nicolas L. Fawzi & Monika Fux, 2025. "Current practices in the study of biomolecular condensates: a community comment," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-62055-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62055-8
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