Membraneless organelles can melt nucleic acid duplexes and act as biomolecular filters

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The multifunctional nucleolus.

Francois-Michel Boisvert, Silvana van Koningsbruggen, Joaquín Navascués … (2007)

The nucleolus is a distinct subnuclear compartment that was first observed more than 200 years ago. Nucleoli assemble around the tandemly repeated ribosomal DNA gene clusters and 28S, 18S and 5.8S ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) are transcribed as a single precursor, which is processed and assembled with the 5S rRNA into ribosome subunits. Although the nucleolus is primarily associated with ribosome biogenesis, several lines of evidence now show that it has additional functions. Some of these functions, such as regulation of mitosis, cell-cycle progression and proliferation, many forms of stress response and biogenesis of multiple ribonucleoprotein particles, will be discussed, as will the relation of the nucleolus to human diseases.

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Cell-free formation of RNA granules: bound RNAs identify features and components of cellular assemblies.

Tina W. Han, Masato Kato, Shanhai Xie … (2012)

Cellular granules lacking boundary membranes harbor RNAs and their associated proteins and play diverse roles controlling the timing and location of protein synthesis. Formation of such granules was emulated by treatment of mouse brain extracts and human cell lysates with a biotinylated isoxazole (b-isox) chemical. Deep sequencing of the associated RNAs revealed an enrichment for mRNAs known to be recruited to neuronal granules used for dendritic transport and localized translation at synapses. Precipitated mRNAs contain extended 3' UTR sequences and an enrichment in binding sites for known granule-associated proteins. Hydrogels composed of the low complexity (LC) sequence domain of FUS recruited and retained the same mRNAs as were selectively precipitated by the b-isox chemical. Phosphorylation of the LC domain of FUS prevented hydrogel retention, offering a conceptual means of dynamic, signal-dependent control of RNA granule assembly. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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The biophysics and cell biology of lipid droplets.

Abdou Rachid Thiam, Robert V. Farese, Tobias Walther (2013)

Lipid droplets are intracellular organelles that are found in most cells, where they have fundamental roles in metabolism. They function prominently in storing oil-based reserves of metabolic energy and components of membrane lipids. Lipid droplets are the dispersed phase of an oil-in-water emulsion in the aqueous cytosol of cells, and the importance of basic biophysical principles of emulsions for lipid droplet biology is now being appreciated. Because of their unique architecture, with an interface between the dispersed oil phase and the aqueous cytosol, specific mechanisms underlie their formation, growth and shrinkage. Such mechanisms enable cells to use emulsified oil when the demands for metabolic energy or membrane synthesis change. The regulation of the composition of the phospholipid surfactants at the surface of lipid droplets is crucial for lipid droplet homeostasis and protein targeting to their surfaces.