A quantitative inventory of yeast P body proteins reveals principles of composition and specificity

P bodies are archetypal biomolecular condensates that concentrate proteins and RNA without a surrounding membrane. While dozens of P body proteins are known, the concentrations of components in the compartment have not been measured. We used live cell imaging to generate a quantitative inventory of the major proteins in yeast P bodies. Only seven proteins are highly concentrated in P bodies (5.1–15µM); the 24 others examined are appreciably lower (most ≤ 2.6µM). P body concentration correlates inversely with cytoplasmic exchange rate. Sequence elements driving Dcp2 concentration into P bodies are distributed across the protein and act synergistically. Our data indicate that P bodies, and probably other condensates, are compositionally simpler than suggested by proteomic analyses, with implications for specificity, reconstitution and evolution.