Chemical reactions regulated by phase-separated condensates

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Sudarshana Laha - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD) (Author)
  • Jonathan Bauermann - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD) (Author)
  • Frank Jülicher - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD), TUD Dresden University of Technology, Clusters of Excellence PoL: Physics of Life (Author)
  • Thomas C.T. Michaels - , ETH Zurich (Author)
  • Christoph A. Weber - , Augsburg University (Author)

Abstract

Phase-separated liquid condensates can spatially organize and thereby regulate chemical processes. However, the physicochemical mechanisms underlying such regulation remain elusive as the intramolecular interactions responsible for phase separation give rise to a coupling between diffusion and chemical reactions at nondilute conditions. Here, we derive a theoretical framework that decouples the phase separation of scaffold molecules from the reaction kinetics of diluted clients. As a result, phase volume and client partitioning coefficients become control parameters, which enables us to dissect the impact of phase-separated condensates on chemical reactions. We apply this framework to two chemical processes and show how condensates affect the yield of reversible chemical reactions and the initial rate of a simple assembly process. In both cases, we find an optimal condensate volume at which the respective chemical reaction property is maximal. Our work can be applied to experimentally quantify how condensed phases alter chemical processes in systems biology and unravel the mechanisms of how biomolecular condensates regulate biochemistry in living cells.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number043092
JournalPhysical Review Research
Volume6
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas