Condensate-driven chromatin organization via elastocapillary interactions

Abstract

Biomolecular condensates are ubiquitous structures found throughout eukaryotic cells, with nuclear condensates playing a key role in the mesoscale organization and functionality of the genome1,2. Protein- and RNA-rich liquid-like condensates form through phase separation on and around chromatin, driving diverse condensate morphologies with varying sphericity and intra-condensate chromatin density3,4. However, a unifying set of physical principles underlying these varied interactions and their implications for chromatin organization remains elusive. Here, we develop and experimentally validate a mesoscopic model that bridges the physics of phase separation and chromatin mechanics. Specifically, by integrating computational modeling with experiments using two canonical condensate proteins, the heterochromatin protein HP1, and the euchromatin protein BRD4, we demonstrate that wetting properties and chromatin stiffness shape condensate morphology, while condensates remodel chromatin mechanics and organization. This two-way interplay is governed by elastocapillarity--the deformation of chromatin by condensate interfacial tension -- and resolves discrepancies in nuclear condensate behavior, with emergent behaviors that deviate from the simplest liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) models5-8. Our findings underscore that nuclear condensates and chromatin cannot be studied in isolation, as they are fundamentally interdependent, impacted by biomolecularly-defined wetting properties, with implications for genome organization, transcriptional regulation, and epigenetic control in diverse phenotypes, including cancer2,9,10. Beyond the nucleus, the methodologies we present offer a generalizable platform for exploring multiphase, multicomponent soft matter systems across a broad range of biological and synthetic contexts11.