Incorporation and assembly of a light-emitting enzymatic reaction into model protein condensates

Biomolecular condensates are specialized subcellular compartments formed via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). In contrast to organelles encapsulated by lipid membranes, biomolecular condensates are membraneless. In this work, we demonstrate the incorporation of a light-emitting NanoLuc enzyme into our model protein condensate system based on the RGG domain from the C. elegans P granule protein LAF-1. The enzyme inside the condensed phase can generate a bioluminescence signal that can be imaged by bioluminescence microscopy or read by a microplate reader.