Germline P Granules Are Liquid Droplets That Localize by Controlled Dissolution/Condensation Export

@article{citeulike:4609592, abstract = {In sexually reproducing organisms, embryos specify germ cells, which ultimately generate sperm and eggs. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the first germ cell is established when RNA and protein-rich P granules localize to the posterior of the one-cell embryo. Localization of P granules and their physical nature remain poorly understood. Here we show that P granules exhibit liquid-like behaviors, including fusion, dripping, and wetting, which we used to estimate their viscosity and surface tension. As with other liquids, P granules rapidly dissolved and condensed. Localization occurred by a biased increase in P granule condensation at the posterior. This process reflects a classic phase transition, in which polarity proteins vary the condensation point across the cell. Such phase transitions may represent a fundamental physicochemical mechanism for structuring the cytoplasm. 10.1126/science.1172046}, author = {Brangwynne, Clifford P. and Eckmann, Christian R. and Courson, David S. and Rybarska, Agata and Hoege, Carsten and Gharakhani, Jobin and Julicher, Frank and Hyman, Anthony A.}, citeulike-article-id = {4609592}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1172046}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.sciencemag.org/content/1172046/.abstract}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www.sciencemag.org/content/1172046/.full.pdf}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/324/5935/1729?ijkey=f84dfd4343957d32838a793ea5f98d224bc0e785}, citeulike-linkout-4 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19460965}, citeulike-linkout-5 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=19460965}, day = {26}, doi = {10.1126/science.1172046}, journal = {Science}, keywords = {biophysics, c\_elegans, germline\_cell, phase\_transition, protein-protein\_interaction, rna}, month = {June}, number = {5935}, pages = {1729--1732}, posted-at = {2009-06-30 18:59:01}, priority = {2}, title = {Germline P Granules Are Liquid Droplets That Localize by Controlled Dissolution/Condensation}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1172046}, volume = {324}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:4609592 L3 - citeulike-article-id:4609592 N2 - In sexually reproducing organisms, embryos specify germ cells, which ultimately generate sperm and eggs. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the first germ cell is established when RNA and protein-rich P granules localize to the posterior of the one-cell embryo. Localization of P granules and their physical nature remain poorly understood. Here we show that P granules exhibit liquid-like behaviors, including fusion, dripping, and wetting, which we used to estimate their viscosity and surface tension. As with other liquids, P granules rapidly dissolved and condensed. Localization occurred by a biased increase in P granule condensation at the posterior. This process reflects a classic phase transition, in which polarity proteins vary the condensation point across the cell. Such phase transitions may represent a fundamental physicochemical mechanism for structuring the cytoplasm. 10.1126/science.1172046 IS - 5935 JF - Science EP - 1732 TI - Germline P Granules Are Liquid Droplets That Localize by Controlled Dissolution/Condensation VL - 324 SP - 1729 KW - biophysics KW - c_elegans KW - germline_cell KW - phase_transition KW - protein-protein_interaction KW - rna AU - Brangwynne, Clifford AU - Eckmann, Christian AU - Courson, David AU - Rybarska, Agata AU - Hoege, Carsten AU - Gharakhani, Jobin AU - Julicher, Frank AU - Hyman, Anthony PY - 2009/06/26/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1172046 ER -