Phase separation provides a mechanism to reduce noise in cells

Abstract

Keeping the noise down Protein concentrations in a cell fluctuate considerably because of stochasticity in gene expression and variations in the cell's microenvironment. How cells cope with concentration fluctuations when precision is important is unclear. Klosin et al. used a combination of theoretical and experimental work to demonstrate that phase-separated compartments can effectively reduce protein concentration noise in cells (see the Perspective by Riback and Brangwynne). The results suggest that phase separation provides a mechanism to enhance the robustness of biological systems. Science , this issue p. 464 ; see also p. 364