Theoretical limits for sensing through phase separation
Abstract
Biomolecular condensates form on timescales of seconds in cells upon environmental or compositional changes. Condensate formation is thus argued to act as a mechanism for sensing such changes and quickly initiating downstream processes, such as forming stress granules in response to heat stress and amplifying cyclic GMP-AMP synthase enzymatic activity upon detection of cytosolic DNA. Here, we study a dynamical model of droplet nucleation and growth to demonstrate how phase separation allows cells to discriminate small concentration differences on finite, biologically relevant timescales. We propose optimal sensing protocols, which use the sharp onset of phase separation. We show how, given experimentally measured rates, cells can achieve rapid and robust sensing of concentration differences of [Formula: see text] on a timescale of minutes, offering an alternative to classical biochemical mechanisms.
Fields of Study & Subjects
RNA Research and Splicing
Plant Molecular Biology Research
Solidification and crystal growth phenomena
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Volume
- 123
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- e2520040123–e2520040123
- Publication date
- 6 February 2026
- Language
- EN