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Originally published in Science Express on 21 May 2009
Science 26 June 2009:
Vol. 324. no. 5935, pp. 1729 - 1732
DOI: 10.1126/science.1172046
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Reports

Germline P Granules Are Liquid Droplets That Localize by Controlled Dissolution/Condensation

Clifford P. Brangwynne,1,2,3 Christian R. Eckmann,1 David S. Courson,3 Agata Rybarska,1 Carsten Hoege,1 Jöbin Gharakhani,2,3 Frank Jülicher,2,3 Anthony A. Hyman1,3,*

In sexually reproducing organisms, embryos specify germ cells, which ultimately generate sperm and eggs. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the first germ cell is established when RNA and protein-rich P granules localize to the posterior of the one-cell embryo. Localization of P granules and their physical nature remain poorly understood. Here we show that P granules exhibit liquid-like behaviors, including fusion, dripping, and wetting, which we used to estimate their viscosity and surface tension. As with other liquids, P granules rapidly dissolved and condensed. Localization occurred by a biased increase in P granule condensation at the posterior. This process reflects a classic phase transition, in which polarity proteins vary the condensation point across the cell. Such phase transitions may represent a fundamental physicochemical mechanism for structuring the cytoplasm.

1 Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
2 Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187 Dresden, Germany.
3 Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hyman{at}mpi-cbg.de

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Phase Transition in a Cell.
L. L. Goff and T. Lecuit (2009)
Science 324, 1654-1655
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