SAIFR:2124

Protein condensation inside cells: like oil in water?

(2020). Protein condensation inside cells: like oil in water?. ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research. https://scivideos.org/index.php/ictp-saifr/2124

Protein condensation inside cells: like oil in water?. ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research, Feb. 18, 2020, https://scivideos.org/index.php/ictp-saifr/2124 

          @misc{ scivideos_SAIFR:2124,
            doi = {},
            url = {https://scivideos.org/index.php/ictp-saifr/2124},
            author = {},
            keywords = {ICTP-SAIFR, IFT, UNESP},
            language = {en},
            title = {Protein condensation inside cells: like oil in water?},
            publisher = { ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research},
            year = {2020},
            month = {feb},
            note = {SAIFR:2124 see, \url{https://scivideos.org/index.php/ictp-saifr/2124}}
          }
Pierre Ronceray
Talk numberSAIFR:2124
Source RepositoryICTP – SAIFR
Collection
Talk Type Conference
Subject

Abstract

A multitude of protein bodies have recently been found to be non-membrane-bound liquid droplets that phase-separate spontaneously from the cellular environment, both in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. For this reason, they are often compared to oil droplets in water. In this talk, I will challenge this analogy at two different levels. First, protein liquids are not quite like oil - they are generally caused by the specific attractive interactions between complementary protein domains, which result in surprising phase behavior and allows cells to fine-tune their dynamical properties. Second, the cellular environment, and in particular the nucleoplasm, is not quite like water - it is crowded, visco-elastic, and highly complex. Using simple theoretical arguments, I will show that the interplay between the elasticity of chromatin and the surface tension of droplets controls phase separation - and I will predict that this could result in exotic, yet-unobserved new phases of matter.