# Biomolecular condensates as cellular memory modules: Thermodynamic principles and plant stress adaptation

## TL;DR

This paper explores how biomolecular condensates in plant cells may help store and process stress-related information, enabling more efficient responses to environmental challenges.

## Contribution

The paper proposes a novel framework for how processing bodies act as cellular memory modules through phase separation in plant stress adaptation.

## Key findings

- Biomolecular condensates modulate RNA fate and translational repression during stress.
- Processing bodies may encode and maintain stress-responsive information through biophysical integration.
- Evidence supports a role for condensates in coordinated plant stress responses and resilience.

## Abstract

Organisms frequently encounter abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures, requiring sophisticated adaptive mechanisms. Stress memory enables them to respond more efficiently to repeated environmental challenges by retaining information from prior exposures. Biomolecular condensates, dynamic, membraneless cellular assemblies formed by liquid-liquid phase separation, have emerged as crucial regulators of post-transcriptional gene expression, particularly in stress conditions. These condensates modulate RNA fate and translational repression by selectively storing and organizing key molecules in ways that may contribute to cellular memory mechanisms. Here, we explore the biophysical principles underpinning condensate formation and dynamics, with a focus on processing bodies (PBs) as potential cellular memory storage systems. We propose a framework for how PBs might integrate biochemical and biophysical signals to encode, maintain, and retrieve stress-responsive information, and discuss the evidence supporting their role in coordinated stress responses and adaptive resilience in plants.