2024 Volume 64 Issue 2 Pages 71-77
Membraneless organelles (MLOs) are condensates that compartmentalize and thereby facilitate specific biological functions. Multivalent interactions between RNA and protein components elicit phase separation to form MLOs. Many MLOs are multiple-layered, and the physiological properties of each layer contribute to MLO functions. MLOs sequestrate specific factors to promote/suppress the biological reaction in which they are involved. MLOs are also known to associate with specific chromosomal loci to place genes in the appropriate sub-nuclear environment for regulating their expression. Reflecting the physiological importance of MLOs, aberrant morphologies of MLOs and mutations in MLO components have been reported in various tumors and diseases.
