Decoding the Evolutionary Secrets of the Nucleolus: MIT's Breakthrough

MIT biologists have discovered that a protein called TCOF1 is responsible for the formation of a biomolecular condensate known as the fibrillar center within the nucleolus, a cell organelle involved in building ribosomes. This finding sheds light on an evolutionary shift that occurred around 300 million years ago, where the nucleolus developed a third compartment in amniotes. The researchers hypothesize that TCOF1 played a crucial role in this transition. Understanding the formation and function of condensates could have implications for studying other cellular processes and diseases associated with biomolecular condensates.