Transcription-templated assembly of the nucleolus in the <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> embryo.

ABSTRACT: The nucleolus is a multicomponent structure made of RNA and proteins that serves as the site of ribosome biogenesis within the nucleus. It has been extensively studied as a prototype of a biomolecular condensate whose assembly is driven by phase separation. While the steady-state size of the nucleolus is quantitatively accounted for by the thermodynamics of phase separation, we show that experimental measurements of the assembly dynamics are inconsistent with a simple model of a phase-separating system relaxing to its equilibrium state. Instead, we show that the dynamics are well described by a model in which the transcription of ribosomal RNA actively drives nucleolar assembly. We find that our model of active transcription-templated assembly quantitatively accounts for the rapid kinetics

SUBMITTER: Kodan N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12146744 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature