TY - JOUR
T1 - How Hierarchical Interactions Make Membraneless Organelles Tick Like Clockwork
AU - Schmit, Jeremy D.
AU - Feric, Marina
AU - Dundr, Miroslav
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Biomolecular condensates appear throughout the cell, serving many different biochemical functions. We argue that condensate functionality is optimized when the interactions driving condensation vary widely in affinity. Strong interactions provide structural specificity needed to encode functional properties but carry the risk of kinetic arrest, while weak interactions allow the system to remain dynamic but do not restrict the conformational ensemble enough to sustain specific functional features. To support our opinion, we describe illustrative examples of the interplay of strong and weak interactions that are found in the nucleolus, SPOP/DAXX condensates, polySUMO/polySIM condensates, chromatin, and stress granules. The common feature of these systems is a hierarchical assembly motif in which weak, transient interactions condense structurally defined functional units.
AB - Biomolecular condensates appear throughout the cell, serving many different biochemical functions. We argue that condensate functionality is optimized when the interactions driving condensation vary widely in affinity. Strong interactions provide structural specificity needed to encode functional properties but carry the risk of kinetic arrest, while weak interactions allow the system to remain dynamic but do not restrict the conformational ensemble enough to sustain specific functional features. To support our opinion, we describe illustrative examples of the interplay of strong and weak interactions that are found in the nucleolus, SPOP/DAXX condensates, polySUMO/polySIM condensates, chromatin, and stress granules. The common feature of these systems is a hierarchical assembly motif in which weak, transient interactions condense structurally defined functional units.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099608188&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1016/j.tibs.2020.12.011
DO - 10.1016/j.tibs.2020.12.011
M3 - Review article
C2 - 33483232
AN - SCOPUS:85099608188
SN - 0968-0004
VL - 46
SP - 525
EP - 534
JO - Trends in Biochemical Sciences
JF - Trends in Biochemical Sciences
IS - 7
ER -