RT @salkinstitute: "It's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of strategy. I think solutions come through evolution. It comes through….

RT @MiaoYansong: NTU Singapore invites applications for the prestigious Lee Wee Nam Professorship in Life Sciences, with a focus on Plant S….

Thanks to our amazing interdisciplinary team from @wustl_engineering & @DukeBiology!.First authors:.Gaurav Chauhan & Edward Wilkinson. Co-corresponding authors:.Rohit Pappu & Lucia Strader.

Big implications:.Explains size and shape of cytoplasmic condensates.May underlie condensate aging, mechanical sensing, and compartmentalization.Opens door to targeting motility to regulate phase separation—e.g., in viral replication or synthetic biology

Takeaway:.Motility isn’t just about where molecules go—it affects whether they condense at all. We call this motility-aided phase separation, and it may be widespread across cell types and kingdoms.

Key insight:.Active movement lowers the threshold for condensate formation. Motile molecules can condense more easily, even when passive molecules cannot.

To understand how force affects condensation, we used Langevin dynamics simulations. Using bead-spring polymers with Lennard-Jones attraction, we applied directional force, finding decreased saturation concentration (ρ_sat) and enhanced phase separation.

Movement wasn’t just coincidental. Fast-moving condensates were larger. Disrupting actin or myosins led to smaller condensates. This suggests that motility enhances the driving forces for condensation.

ARF condensates move along actin filaments in the cytoplasm!.We found this movement was: fast (~10 µm/s),  directional, and disrupted by actin depolymerization = all signatures of active transport via myosin motors.

We measured ARF concentrations inside the nucleus and cytoplasm of Arabidopsis cells. Surprise: Dilute ARF19 levels were higher in the nucleus, yet condensates formed only in the cytoplasm. That means it’s not just about concentration—it’s about context.

In plants, the transcription factors ARF7 & ARF19 control gene expression in response to auxin. But these ARFs can be sequestered into cytoplasmic condensates—shutting down their activity. Why do these condensates form only in the cytoplasm?.

Biomolecular condensates organize cellular contents. Most studies focus on passive phase separation, driven by salt, pH, or temperature. But what if intracellular movement also matters?.Here, we explore motility-induced condensation in a cellular context.

Cool new multi-target CRISPR strategy for overcoming genetic redundancy from Yuqin Zhang and Eilon Shani.

RT @NaturePlants: Some auxin-related reading for the week-end: ARFs are degraded, too. - "Comparative mutant analyses reveal a novel mecha….

RT @jennyrussinova: IPGSA 2025: DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR TRAVEL AWARDS, check it out! 🌱🌱🌱

RT @jennifermhurley: My department is looking for our newest faculty member. The review of applications starts soon. Hope to see your appli….

RT @jennifermhurley: Looking for a faculty position? RPI is hiring in the Biological Sciences (my department)! Looking forward to having yo….

RT @jerelleaj: This summer in beautiful Santa Barbara we will run a 3-day conference on “Biological Physics of Biomolecular Condensates: Br….

RT @WolfPrize_: “For groundbreaking discoveries of the immune system and disease resistance in plants.”:.Jeffery Dangl, Jonathan Jones, and….

RT @CharlesMelnyk: "A long-distance inhibitory system regulates haustoria numbers in parasitic plants", our work is now out in.@PNASNews .….