Biomolecular condensates are membrane-less compartments that form within cells through the dynamic clustering of proteins and nucleic acids, allowing specific biochemical processes to be concentrated in one place without a surrounding membrane. In plant science, these structures are increasingly recognized as key players in stress sensing, signaling, and metabolic regulation, offering a way for cells to rapidly reorganize their internal chemistry in response to environmental changes like heat, light, or nutrient shifts. Understanding condensate formation could reveal new strategies for engineering stress-resilient crops and photosynthetic organisms.
Scientists reviewed how algae build tiny internal compartments called pyrenoids that concentrate CO2 around a key enzyme, making photosynthesis far more efficient. Understanding this natural trick could help engineers boost crop photosynthesis and food production.
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Phylogenetically distant algae species independently evolved similar linker proteins that use Rubisco-binding motifs to concentrate the enzyme into a phase-separated droplet.
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Starch sheaths and protein shells have evolved around pyrenoids in various algal lineages specifically to prevent CO2 from leaking out.
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Pyrenoids represent convergent evolution of a biomolecular condensate that has arisen independently multiple times over billions of years.
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