Ribonucleoprotein granules are ubiquitous in living organisms with the protein and RNA components having distinct roles. In the absence of proteins, RNAs are shown to undergo phase separation upon heating. This transition is driven by desolvation entropy and ion-mediated crosslinking and is tuned by the chemical specificity of the RNA nucleobases.
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This is a summary of: Wadsworth, G. M. et al. RNAs undergo phase transitions with lower critical solution temperatures. Nat. Chem. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01353-4 (2023).
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Phase-separation behaviour of RNAs. Nat. Chem. 15, 1660–1661 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01359-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01359-y
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