Bereiche | Tage | Auswahl | Suche | Aktualisierungen | Downloads | Hilfe
BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 15: Computational Biophysics III
BP 15.2: Vortrag
Mittwoch, 11. März 2026, 09:45–10:00, BAR/SCHÖ
Uncovering the thermodynamic principles of enzymatic regulation in biomolecular condensates with reactive simulations — •Enrico Lavagna1, Francesco Delfino1, Georgii Koniukov1, Matteo Paloni1,2, Luca Ciandrini1,3, and Alessandro Barducci1 — 1Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Montpellier, France — 2Department of Chemical Engineering, Thomas Young Centre, University College London, London WC1E 7JE, United Kingdom — 3Institut Universitaire de France (IUF)
Biomolecular condensates are dynamic cellular assemblies often regulated by energy-consuming processes such as post-translational modifications (PTMs). Nevertheless, the coupling between reaction dynamics and cellular spatial organization remains poorly understood at the molecular scale. Using a minimal, particle-based model, we investigate how phosphorylation controls condensate steady-state behavior. We find that condensate formation is regulated by the steady-state fraction of phosphorylated scaffold proteins, which increases with enzyme activity. This chemical regulation exhibits a non-linear, non-trivial dependence on the phosphorylation strength. Furthermore, reaction fluxes are spatially heterogeneous, with phosphorylation activity sharply peaking at the condensate interface. Our findings highlight novel, general features of chemically active biomolecular condensates. Moreover, we observe that incorporating local detailed balance is essential for understanding how energy-consuming reactions shape the steady-state properties of phase-separated systems.
Keywords: Biomolecular condensates; Molecular dynamics; Enzymatic regulation; Liquid-Liquid phase separation; Reaction-diffusion simulations