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DNA circuits store data — with heat as their power source

Quantitative parameters of productive transcription on T5 N25–based promoters are modulated by the initial transcribed sequence and template supercoiling

HY5 integrates light and electrical signaling to trigger a jasmonate burst for nematode defense in tomato

Catalytic region mimetics in Na+/H+ exchanger regulatory factor 4 suppress guanylate cyclase 2C activity to regulate enterotoxin triggered diarrhea

<i>In Cellulo</i> Cysteine Umpolung for Protein Structure Probing

Author Correction: Trait mediation explains decadal distributional shifts for a wide range of insect taxa

These laser-cut discs turn into super precise parachutes

Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase interacts with and inhibits the protein kinase TAK1 to mitigate septic shock

Tandem Topotactic Reactions for Low-Temperature Synthesis of Ni-Rich Layered Oxide Cathodes without Anti-site Defect

RNA-peptide interactions tune the ribozyme activity within coacervate microdroplet dispersions

Abstract Membrane-free complex coacervate microdroplets are compelling models for primitive compartmentalisation with the ability to form from biological molecules. However, understanding how molecular interactions can influence physicochemical properties and catalytic activity of membrane-free compartments is still in its infancy. This is important for defining the function of membrane-free compartments during the origin of life as well as in modern biology. Here, we use RNA-peptide coacervate microdroplets prepared with prebiotically relevant amino acids and a minimal hammerhead ribozyme. This is a model system to probe the relationship between coacervate composition, its properties and ribozyme activity. We show that ribozyme catalytic activity is inhibited within the coacervate compared to buffer solution, whilst variations in peptide sequence can modulate rates and yield of the ribozyme within the coacervate droplet by up to 15-fold. The apparent ribozyme rate constant is anti-correlated with its concentration and correlated to its diffusion coefficient within the coacervates. Our results provide a relationship between the physicochemical properties of the coacervate microenvironment and the catalytic activity of the ribozyme where membrane-free compartments could provide a selection pressure to drive molecular evolution on prebiotic earth.

Daily briefing: Fireworks in space — the month’s best science images

Correction: Curcumin suppresses AP1 transcription factor-dependent differentiation and activates apoptosis in human epidermal keratinocytes

Unimolecular and Bimolecular Pathways in Bidirectional Redox Molecular Catalysis

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutations Y115H and E497D disrupt the folded-back state of human β-cardiac myosin allosterically

Ubiquitin-specific protease 7 promotes the growth and oncogenic potential of acute myeloid leukemia cells through the deubiquitination and upregulation of LRRK2

Atmospheric Corrosion-Driven Redox Coordination Enables Spontaneous Carbonate Conversion of Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes

Photocatalyzed Decarboxylative B–C Couplings for the Synthesis of Carboranyl Amino Acids and Peptides

Disentangling associations between complex traits and cell types with seismic

TOR signaling regulates GPCR levels on the plasma membrane and suppresses the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating pathway

Mechanism Inversion in Visible Light-Induced Photoclick Reactions