The roles of inorganic condensates in cells

Biomolecular condensates are now recognized as important players in cellular processes. Most of the dense phases that were studied thus far are made of organic macromolecules such as proteins and RNA. Nevertheless, several examples exist in which the dense phases are primarily made of inorganic ions such as calcium and phosphates. Even though such inorganic condensates might form and be regulated by the same chemical and physical rules that control biomolecular condensates, not much is known about these entities, mostly due to experimental challenges. In this talk I will discuss some recent findings about the occurrence of inorganic condensates in various cell types, and their possible roles in mediating cellular processes, from energy budget to mineral formation. Currently, abundant observations suggest that cells can utilize the associative interactions between ions and charged macromolecules to concentrate both of these constituents for further use, for example in the building of inorganic scaffolds by marine algae.