560012 SE Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation Phenomena in Biology (2023S)

Our understanding of how cells are organized is currently undergoing a major transformation and central to this is the concept of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). It has become clear that many key cellular compartments, such as nucleoli, p-bodies or stress granules, assemble spontaneously when proteins, nucleic acids and other biomolecules condense together via LLPS. Taught by the faculty involved in the FWF doctoral program ELIPSE, the course will provide a unified perspective on LLPS phenomena in biology. Specifically, the relevant concepts and approaches from cell biology, biochemistry and structural biology will be integrated with those from soft-matter physics and computational modelling, and illustrated with examples from recent scientific literature. The LLPS field demands a close integration of different approaches and a significant extension outside one’s comfort zone, even for the most experienced practitioners. Open to students with different backgrounds such as biology, chemistry and physics, the course aims to contribute directly to such integration. After completing the course, the students will be able to read and assess primary literature on LLPS and creatively and critically approach open problems in the field.