Static and transient vacuolation in protein-based coacervates induced by charged amino acids

Zhenhua Li, Qing Liu, Han Ding, Zhuojun Meng, Qi-Hong Zhao, Nan-Nan Deng () and Lifei Zheng ()
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Zhenhua Li: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qing Liu: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Han Ding: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhuojun Meng: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qi-Hong Zhao: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Nan-Nan Deng: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Lifei Zheng: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Vacuolation is a common phenomenon observed in many subcellular membrane-less organelles, such as paraspeckles, granules and nucleoli. Previous work suggests that such dynamic sub-structuration can be a result of charge disproportion at super-stoichiometric ratios of the assembling component. In this work, we demonstrate that other than remodeling the large coacervate-constituting components, the introduction of small charged motifs, amino acids, can also lead to the formation of static vacuoles in the coacervate droplets. Furthermore, we find that transient vacuolation can be induced when the charged amino acid (L-aspartic acid) is in situ produced in the coacervate droplets. The transient vacuoles can be tuned in lifetimes and initiated repeatedly, which highly resembles the ubiquitous dissipative assemblies in living systems that require a continuous supply of energy or matter. Therefore, our work may suggest an avenue to understand the sub-structuration within subcellular membrane-less organelles.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61340-w

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