Coordination Funds

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The evolution of complex eukaryotes went along with the need to compartmentalize and separate cellular processes, often in the form of membrane-encapsulated organelles like the nucleus, mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, endosomes and lysosomes, which have the status of textbook knowledge. Membrane encapsulation was associated with the problem of developing some form of transport system such that biomolecules can exchange between organelles. Other long-known compartments are membraneless organelles, such as nucleoli, stress granules or Cajal bodies. However, only within the last decade it has become clear that these compartments arise from the physical process of phase separation, which bestows them with very special properties; they can be reversible, highly dynamic, and they continuously exchange molecules with their surroundings without the requirement of specific transport systems. These properties require us to rethink the organization of cells and to evolve our existing concepts of compartmentalization and regulation of cellular transport and functions, setting the stage for ‘cell biology 2.0’. To investigate these newly emerging concepts and elucidate the mechanisms that underlie cellular compartmentalization via phase separation and regulation thereof, we also need to develop new tools and approaches and combine cell biology and biophysics with biochemical reconstitution as well as theory and modelling. This combination of disciplines will allow us to make testable predictions about the role of phase separation in diverse biological processes, which will be validated in relevant functional biochemical assays as well as cell biological, developmental and disease models. The last ten years of phase separation research have only scratched the surface of the complexity of biomolecular condensates. The initial excitement about the role of phase separation has recently been extended to include more solid types of condensates which enable additional layers of functional regulation. This national priority program brings together scientists from diverse fields, thinking environments and scientific backgrounds. This network will allow researchers to synergistically decipher how novel functions, but also pathologies, emerge from the process of condensation, and what molecular underpinnings facilitate and regulate this key process. By doing so, this program will nourish a new generation of scientists who challenge the boundaries of existing fields and tackle important emerging problems in the life sciences through the lens of condensates.