【Omar Adame-Arana】Thermodynamic control of P granule positioning in the C. Elegans embryo

Thermodynamic control of P granule positioning in the C. Elegans embryo

In this talk, I will discuss how position-dependent phase separation underlies the localization of RNA–protein condensates known as P granules during germline specification in C. elegans embryos. P granules exhibit liquid-like behaviors and undergo reversible condensation and dissolution, consistent with thermodynamic phase separation. Surprisingly, their assembly can be quantitatively described by local thermodynamic equilibrium models, even within the active environment of the cytoplasm. I will show how gradients of polarity proteins such as MEX-5 regulate the local saturation concentration, most likely competing for RNA, thereby spatially controlling P granule assembly. Furthermore, I will discuss experiments where physical temperature gradients can substitute for these biochemical gradients, demonstrating that cells can position condensates by modulating thermodynamic conditions. Together, these results highlight position-dependent phase separation as a robust and versatile mechanism for intracellular organization and positioning of biomolecular condensates.

Dr. Omar Adame-Arana is a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden. His work focuses on the theoretical and computational study of phase separation, chromatin organization, and biomolecular condensates in biological and soft-matter systems. He combines thermodynamic principles, continuum modeling, numerical calculations, and statistical physics to understand how physical principles underlie cellular organization. Dr. Adame-Arana obtained his Bachelor and Master degrees in Physics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), completed his Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, and carried out postdoctoral research at the Weizmann Institute of Science before returning to the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems.