Activating the right gene at the right time and place is essential for development. Emerging evidence suggests that this process is regulated by the mesoscale compartmentalization of the gene-control machinery, RNA polymerase II and its cofactors, within biomolecular condensates. Coupling gene activity to the reversible and dynamic process of condensate formation is proposed to enable the robust and precise changes in gene-regulatory programs during signaling and development. The macromolecular features that enable condensates and the regulatory pathways that control them are dysregulated in disease, highlighting their importance for normal physiology. In this review, we will discuss the role of condensates in gene activation; the multivalent features of protein, RNA, and DNA that enable reversible condensate formation; and how these processes are utilized in normal and disease biology. Understanding the regulation of condensates promises to provide novel insights into how organization of the gene-control machinery regulates development and disease.

在正确的时间和地点激活正确的基因对于发育至关重要。越来越多的证据表明，该过程受生物分子缩合物中基因控制机制，RNA聚合酶II及其辅因子的中尺度间隔的调节。提出将基因活性与冷凝物形成的可逆和动态过程耦合，以使信号传导和发育过程中基因调控程序的鲁棒而精确的变化成为可能。导致凝结物的大分子特征和控制凝结物的调节途径在疾病中失调，突显了它们对正常生理的重要性。在这篇综述中，我们将讨论冷凝物在基因激活中的作用。蛋白质，RNA和DNA的多价特征使得可逆的冷凝物形成；以及在正常生物学和疾病生物学中如何利用这些过程。理解冷凝物的调节有望为基因控制机制的组织如何调节发育和疾病提供新颖的见解。