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Published Online May 21, 2009
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1172046

Reports

Submitted on February 9, 2009
Accepted on May 8, 2009

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

Clifford P. Brangwynne 1, Christian R. Eckmann 2, David S. Courson 3, Agata Rybarska 2, Carsten Hoege 2, Jöbin Gharakhani 4, Frank Jülicher 4, Anthony A. Hyman 5*

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

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

In sexually reproducing organisms, embryos specify germ cells which ultimately generate sperm and eggs. In C. 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.


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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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)