Figure 1.

LLPS phase separation in vitro and in vivo. A, in a mixture of two types of molecules, LLPS leads to the formation of two phases akin to droplets of oil appearing from a mixture of oil and water. Proteins can undergo a similar phase separation. In this case, the RBP FUS (olive circles) undergoes LLPS upon cleavage of the maltose-binding protein (MBP) tag (cyan circles) and forms liquid droplets that are enriched in FUS compared with the surrounding medium. B, LLPS underpins the biogenesis of a wide array of membraneless organelles within cells. Depicted here is a nonexhaustive list of these organelles.