{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,3]],"date-time":"2026-10-03T22:38:05Z","timestamp":1791067085149,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":79,"publisher":"American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]],"date-time":"2026-05-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778198400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/page\/science-licenses-journal-article-reuse"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"National Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["DMR-2308817"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DMR-2308817"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"National Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MCB 2327244"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MCB 2327244"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"National Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MCB 2327244"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MCB 2327244"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"National Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2530428"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2530428"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"National Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2530428"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2530428"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["R35GM139531"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R35GM139531"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["R35GM142941"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R35GM142941"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000928","name":"Welch Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["F-2055-20240404"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["F-2055-20240404"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000928","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000928","name":"Welch Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["F-2257-20250403"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["F-2257-20250403"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000928","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["T32 GM139795"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["T32 GM139795"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000008","name":"David and Lucile Packard Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2023-76153"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023-76153"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000008","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.science.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Sci. Adv."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Protein condensates assemble actin filaments into diverse architectures, reminiscent of filopodia and stress fibers. During assembly, filament nucleation and elongation compete for a shared pool of actin monomers. Here we show that a balance between these processes is required to deform condensates of VASP, an actin polymerase, into high aspect ratio structures. Adding magnesium, which promotes filament nucleation, enhanced condensate deformation, while adding profilin, which favors elongation over nucleation, produced ring-like filament bundles that failed to deform condensates. Computational modeling predicted that a collection of short filaments would be more efficient at deforming condensates compared to a few long filaments. To test this prediction, filament capping protein was used to inhibit growth of long filaments. The resulting set of shorter filaments regained the ability to deform condensates, illustrating the importance of a balance between filament nucleation and elongation. More broadly, these findings illustrate how protein condensates balance actin nucleation, elongation, and bundling to direct the assembly of diverse cytoskeletal architectures.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.aea0196","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T09:53:19Z","timestamp":1778579599000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["A balance between nucleating and elongating actin filaments controls deformation of protein condensates"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6234-4448","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Caleb","family":"Walker","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-0518-0407","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Daniel","family":"Mansour","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-7637-4147","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Unyime M.","family":"Effiong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-1355-4573","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Dominique","family":"Jordan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Liping","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0493-6522","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Eileen M.","family":"Lafer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7245-6435","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Alvarado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3608-0164","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Brian","family":"Belardi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5953-4347","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Padmini","family":"Rangamani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA."},{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2501-142X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jeanne C.","family":"Stachowiak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA."},{"name":"McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"221","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature08908"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1042\/BST20170355"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1175862"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0092-8674(00)81559-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/cshperspect.a018226"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nrm2816"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.cellbio.19.050103.103356"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3109\/10409230903277340"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1021\/bi400682n"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","first-page":"7189","article-title":"The disordered P granule protein LAF-1 drives phase separation into droplets with tunable viscosity and dynamics","volume":"112","author":"Elbaum-Garfinkle S.","year":"2015","unstructured":"S. Elbaum-Garfinkle, Y. Kim, K. Szczepaniak, C. C.-H. Chen, C. R. Eckmann, S. Myong, C. P. Brangwynne, The disordered P granule protein LAF-1 drives phase separation into droplets with tunable viscosity and dynamics. Comput. Biol. 112, 7189\u20137194 (2015).","journal-title":"Comput. Biol."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2015.09.015"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tcb.2018.02.004"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature10879"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aad9964"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aau6313"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2017.05.028"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2122420119"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41567-022-01924-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-024-46726-6"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2309152121"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_22_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.devcel.2025.01.012"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bpj.2021.09.003"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_24_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2014.01.072"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.biophys.29.1.545"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0167-4838(91)90052-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1211078109"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bpj.2013.10.032"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_29_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1083\/jcb.113.5.1081"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_30_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1083\/jcb.201003014"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_31_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.emboj.7601874"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_32_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.devcel.2014.10.027"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_33_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0092-8674(03)00120-X"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_34_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1806394115"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_35_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.15252\/embj.201797039"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_36_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00712034"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_37_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2005.11.038"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_38_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/emboj.2010.348"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_39_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.06585"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_40_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/emboj\/18.5.1159"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_41_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41556-021-00646-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_42_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41557-023-01423-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_43_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0167-4889(97)00100-6"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_44_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1618041114"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_45_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"D. Mansour D. Jordan C. Walker A. Chandrasekaran C. T. Lee K. Graham J. Stachowiak P. Rangamani Mechanochemical feedback between confinement and actin crosslinking drives the shape dynamics of liquid-like droplets. bioRxiv 659650 [Preprint] (2025); https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1101\/2025.06.13.659650.","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.06.13.659650"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_46_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1021\/bi00447a036"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_47_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1083\/jcb.105.1.371"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_48_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S1937-6448(08)00604-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_49_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41594-024-01412-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_50_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1021\/bi00335a046"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_51_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/364685a0"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_52_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1074\/jbc.274.47.33179"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_53_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1432-1327.2000.01463.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_54_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-biophys-052118-115534"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_55_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2418624122"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_56_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.84446"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_57_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41421-024-00744-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_58_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41557-024-01630-w"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_59_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1091\/mbc.E20-04-0270"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_60_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-023-05981-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_61_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2407497121"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_62_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2217437120"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_63_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1091\/mbc.e14-02-0712"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_64_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.devcel.2014.08.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_65_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-018-06532-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_66_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"L. K. Doolittle M. K. Rosen S. B. Padrick \u201cMeasurement and Analysis of In Vitro Actin Polymerization \u201d in Adhesion Protein Protocols A. S. Coutts Ed. (Humana Press Totowa NJ 2013) pp. 273\u2013293; https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-1-62703-538-5_16.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-62703-538-5_16"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_67_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/1367-2630\/9\/11\/427"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_68_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.347575"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_69_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1063\/5.0081078"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_70_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1063\/1.2920475"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_71_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bpj.2020.03.033"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_72_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0031-8914(40)90098-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_73_2","unstructured":"San Diego Supercomputer Center Triton Shared Computing Cluster (2022); https:\/\/doi.org\/10.57873\/T34W2R."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_74_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2007670117"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_75_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s44318-024-00090-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_76_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jpclett.2c01986"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_77_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bpr.2021.100011"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_78_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0006-3495(96)79496-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_79_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1083\/jcb.120.4.923"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_80_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0706124105"}],"container-title":["Science Advances"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1126\/sciadv.aea0196","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1126\/sciadv.aea0196","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T17:59:30Z","timestamp":1778695170000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aea0196"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]]},"references-count":79,"journal-issue":{"issue":"19","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1126\/sciadv.aea0196"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.aea0196","relation":{},"ISSN":["2375-2548"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2375-2548","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-06-23","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-03-20","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-05-08","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"eaea0196"}}