Revision 1

Accepted · first revision · record

Title: Do condensates perform functions beyond molecular binding?
Plain: Many proteins form droplets in cells, but whether the droplet itself does a job, or forms only because the proteins happen to be sticky, is often unknown. Separating the two requires changing droplet formation without changing the proteins' other properties.
Precise: For a given condensate (nucleolus, stress granules, transcriptional condensates), determine whether phase separation itself, as distinct from the underlying molecular binding, changes a measurable cellular output (reaction rate, transcriptional burst frequency, stress survival), using perturbations that shift $c_{sat}$ while preserving binding affinities.
Settled by: Separation-of-function mutants that abolish or induce condensation at fixed binding affinity, with measured effects on the cellular output.
Kind: phenomenon
Answer type: classification
References: (empty)
Literature status: contested
Status note: Functional claims for transcriptional condensates remain disputed as of 2026.
Posed since: (empty)