Biomolecular Condensates in Eukaryotic Cells Retain Prebiotic Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation Properties

Researchers examined nucleolar and stress-granule condensates in HeLa and yeast cells using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and pH titration assays. They measured selective uptake of AMP and glycine at pH 5.5–6.5, replicating conditions proposed for alkaline hydrothermal vents. Sample size included 120 cells across three independent lines with controls for ATP depletion. The design isolates intracellular phase behavior from external prebiotic scenarios.

These findings reframe origins research by showing that modern cells already harbor microenvironments capable of concentrating reactants and catalyzing condensation reactions without requiring extraterrestrial delivery or surface ponds. Earlier models emphasizing RNA-world or mineral catalysis overlooked how extant eukaryotic compartmentalization may preserve ancestral separation physics. This intracellular lens explains why certain metabolic intermediates remain enriched in condensates despite billions of years of evolution.

The principal limitation is reliance on cultured cell lines that may exaggerate condensate stability compared with primary tissues. Strengthening evidence requires in vivo imaging of condensates in early-diverging eukaryotes combined with directed evolution experiments testing whether altering condensate pH sensitivity reduces fitness under prebiotic-like stressors.

Next steps include high-throughput screens for small molecules that modulate condensate partitioning and targeted mutations in IDR sequences to quantify effects on nucleotide retention rates within six months.