Synthetic Organelles Let Researchers Control Cell Behavior

A technique that reversibly bundles tagged cargo into artificial membraneless compartments gives scientists the ability to switch cell processes on and off.

| 3 min read
Abstract graphene structures

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
3:00
Share

ABOVE: © ISTOCK.COM, OLEMEDIA

Eukaryotic cells’ contents are organized into various compartments, including membraneless organelles formed by a process known as liquid-liquid phase separation. Researchers have experimented with creating artificial versions of these compartments to control various aspects of cell biology—blocking particular cellular reactions, for example, or creating new sites for protein translation. Now, a team led by Matthew Good at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine has combined several recent advances into a technique for creating membraneless organelles that reversibly store and release specific intracellular cargo, letting researchers control cell behavior even more finely than before.

To make the organelles, Good’s team engineered yeast (and later human cells) to produce a tweaked version of a protein from the worm C. elegans that would spontaneously coalesce to form droplets, or condensates, in the cell cytoplasm. Then, to mark particular peptides as cargo for these artificial organelles, the researchers ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Catherine Offord

    Catherine is a science journalist based in Barcelona.

Published In

November cover of The Scientist
November 2021

Embryonic Eavesdropping

Animals start listening even before they enter the world

Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
Collage-style urban graphic of wastewater surveillance and treatment

Putting Pathogens to the Test with Wastewater Surveillance

An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide