Biological Condensates: video

Biological condensates or bio-condensates or protein droplets are membrane-less organelles formed as a result of proteins liquid liquid phase separation or demixing. It is important phenomenon which was recently discovered and now not only considered important for normal biological functions but also linked to pathological conditions like neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Considering importance of this natural phenomenon, I have compiled list of sources providing video/movie of formation of biological condensates or describing this phenomenon in detail.

  1. Three video lecture series by Prof. Cliff Brangwynne gives glimpse of protein liquid phase separation process. Lectures are also available on iBiology and Youtube.
    1. Part 1: Liquid Phase Separation in Living Cells
    2. Part 2: Multiphase Liquid Behavior of the Nucleus
    3. Part 3: Using Light to Study and Control Intracellular Phase Behavior
  2. Science sketches started as fun event by Prof. Anthony Hyman Lab to explain their research in just two minutes. These videos can also be found on the YouTube channel and YouTube playlist. Videos cover different aspects of science including protein phase separation.
  3. Four video lecture series titled “Cellular Organization of Complex Cell Structures” by Prof. Anthony Hyman covers important aspect of molecular interaction involved in organization of the complex structures that constitute a cell with last part covering P granules.
  4. Phase Transition in Disease/Cell: Video abstract of Cell article “A Liquid-to-Solid Phase Transition of the ALS Protein FUS Accelerated by Disease Mutation” from Prof. Anthony Hyman and Prof. Simon Alberti groups explains how loss of FUS liquid phase in aging cells results in disease-linked protein aggregation.
  5. Demonstrating How Droplet-Like Organelles Form: Video by Dr. Ashok Deniz shows the role of RNA in forming membrane-less organelles.
  6. New tools to study phase separation: YouTube video describe new tools useful for studying protein phase separation and covers observations from two Cell papers by Dr. Cliff Brangwynne group focused on how nucleation forces push and pull genomic loci and how nucleation centers allow low abundance molecules to phase separate.
  7. Liquid demixing of intrinsically disordered proteins is seeded by poly(ADP-ribose): YouTube video (ScienceVio) by Dr. Jiri Lukas group (University of Copenhagen) based on 2015 Nature Communications article.
  8. Phase condensation in transcription: YouTube video by Richard Young’s lab from Whitehead Institute describe how phase separated condensates appear as “pearl-like” droplets.
  9. Lysozyme-PEG liquid-liquid phase separation: YouTube video by Franden lab showing Liquid-liquid phase separation in a mixture of lysozyme and PEG in the Phase Chip.
  10. Intracellular Liquid-Liquid phase separation of photo-activatable oligomers of FUSn protein in U2OS cells. Video 1 and video 2.
  11. Liquid Phase Separation and Cancer: Video by Prof. Karla Neugebauer (Yale University) describes Cajal body formation and the molecular assembly of RNPs and how they are linked to cancer.
  12. SPOP Mutations Disrupt Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation and contribute to Cancer: Short video by Dr. Tanja Mittag lab (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital) show failure of certain biomolecules to phase separate together may results in cancer.
  13. How Biomolecular condensates form and what they do?: Video by Rosen lab provides glimpse of how biomolecular condensates form and what they do.
  14. Phase Transitions in Biology: Video lecture by Dr. Avinash Patel (Dewpoint) at CLINAM 2016, Singapore.
  15. Conformational Heterogeneity and Organelle-Like Liquid-Liquid Phase: Video by Dr. Hue Sun Chan, University of Toronto, Canada.
  16. Series of videos by Dr. Pezhman Mohammadi (Aalto University) Youtube channel provides series of videos on protein phase separation involving spider silk. Videos covers different aspects of droplet formation, growth and imaging.
  17. How hard are these protein droplets?: YouTube video (Also available at University of Buffalo webpage) by Dr. Priya R. Banerjee describes use of laser ‘tweezers,’ to grab and study tiny protein droplets.
  18. Cajal body function in genome organization and transcriptome diversity: YouTube video created as video abstract to BioEssays article by Dr. Gordon L. Hager and Dr. Miroslav Dundr groups highlight functions of Cajal body in genome organization and transcriptome diversity.
  19. Cajal Body and snRNP biogenesis: YouTube video (also available on lab webpage) is part of lecture by Dr. David Stanek (Czech Academy of Sciences) explains snRNP biogenesis and quality control in Cajal bodies.
  20. Analysis of Spliceosomal snRNA Localization in Human Hela Cells Using Microinjection: This video is part of JOVE article by Dr. David Stanek (Czech Academy of Sciences) show the microinjection procedure to demonstrate the importance of the Sm-binding sequence for efficient localization of snRNAs into the Cajal body.
  21. P-bodies and the mRNA Cycle: This YouTube video by Prof. Roy Parker (University of Colorado, Boulder) is second part of lecture series “The Life of Eukaryotic mRNA: Localization, Translation, and Degradation” on iBology provide an overview of why the regulation of translation and mRNA degradation is an important aspect of the control of gene expression in eukaryotic cells and how P-bodies and stress granules play role to achieve this.