{"title":"Primitive membraneless compartments as a window into the earliest cells.","authors":"Tony Z Jia","doi":"10.1007/s12551-023-01135-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>What did the first cells on Earth look like? This is an unanswered mystery investigated by researchers in the origins of life field. While at some point cells must have developed membranes, genetic components, and catalytic cycles and catalysts, when the earliest cells developed these is not clear. One system which could shed light into the structure and function of the first cells on Earth is membraneless compartments generated from phase separation, perhaps before or as a precursor to the advent of membrane-bound compartmentalization. Here, we briefly comment on two prebiotically relevant membraneless compartment systems: coacervates and polyester microdroplets. This discussion seeks to highlight the current understanding of these systems and to pose unanswered questions as a challenge to the field at large.</p>","PeriodicalId":9094,"journal":{"name":"Biophysical reviews","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.9000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10771483/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Biophysical reviews","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-023-01135-9","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/12/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOPHYSICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
What did the first cells on Earth look like? This is an unanswered mystery investigated by researchers in the origins of life field. While at some point cells must have developed membranes, genetic components, and catalytic cycles and catalysts, when the earliest cells developed these is not clear. One system which could shed light into the structure and function of the first cells on Earth is membraneless compartments generated from phase separation, perhaps before or as a precursor to the advent of membrane-bound compartmentalization. Here, we briefly comment on two prebiotically relevant membraneless compartment systems: coacervates and polyester microdroplets. This discussion seeks to highlight the current understanding of these systems and to pose unanswered questions as a challenge to the field at large.
期刊介绍：
Biophysical Reviews aims to publish critical and timely reviews from key figures in the field of biophysics. The bulk of the reviews that are currently published are from invited authors, but the journal is also open for non-solicited reviews. Interested authors are encouraged to discuss the possibility of contributing a review with the Editor-in-Chief prior to submission. Through publishing reviews on biophysics, the editors of the journal hope to illustrate the great power and potential of physical techniques in the biological sciences, they aim to stimulate the discussion and promote further research and would like to educate and enthuse basic researcher scientists and students of biophysics. Biophysical Reviews covers the entire field of biophysics, generally defined as the science of describing and defining biological phenomenon using the concepts and the techniques of physics. This includes but is not limited by such areas as: - Bioinformatics - Biophysical methods and instrumentation - Medical biophysics - Biosystems - Cell biophysics and organization - Macromolecules: dynamics, structures and interactions - Single molecule biophysics - Membrane biophysics, channels and transportation
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