Mechanical Frustration of Phase Separation in the Cell Nucleus by Chromatin

Abstract

Liquid-liquid phase separation is a fundamental mechanism underlying subcellular organization. Motivated by the striking observation that optogenetically generated droplets in the nucleus display suppressed coarsening dynamics, we study the impact of chromatin mechanics on droplet phase separation. We combine theory and simulation to show that cross-linked chromatin can mechanically suppress droplets’ coalescence and ripening, as well as quantitatively control their number, size, and placement. Our results highlight the role of the subcellular mechanical environment on condensate regulation.

Received 24 December 2020
Accepted 18 May 2021

DOI:https://doi-org.ezproxy.bgu.ac.il/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.258102

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Phase separation Self-assembly

Chromatin

Polymers & Soft MatterStatistical PhysicsBiological Physics

synopsis

Chromatin May Control How Droplets Form and Grow in Cells

Published 24 June 2021

In cell nuclei, molecular structures called chromatin may play a role in the formation of droplets that are crucial for many cellular functions.

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Authors & Affiliations

Yaojun Zhang ^1,2,*, Daniel S. W. Lee^2,*, Yigal Meir^1,3,4, Clifford P. Brangwynne^5,6, and Ned S. Wingreen ^2,4,†

¹Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
²Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
³Department of Physics, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
⁴Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
⁵Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
⁶Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, USA

^*These two authors contributed equally.
^†wingreen@princeton.edu.

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Physical Review Letters