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Abstract This review highlights recent literature on biomolecular condensates in plant development and discusses challenges for fully dissecting their functional roles. Plant developmental biology has been inundated with descriptive examples of biomolecular condensate formation, but it is only recently that mechanistic understanding has been forthcoming. Here, we discuss recent examples of potential roles biomolecular condensates play at different stages of the plant life cycle. We group these examples based on putative molecular functions, including sequestering interacting components, enhancing dwell time, and interacting with cytoplasmic biophysical properties in response to environmental change. We explore how these mechanisms could modulate plant development in response to environmental inputs and discuss challenges and opportunities for further research into deciphering molecular mechanisms to better understand the diverse roles that biomolecular condensates exert on life. 

RNA granules, such as stress granules and processing bodies, can balance the storage, degradation, and translation of mRNAs in diverse eukaryotic organisms. The sessile nature of plants demands highly versatile strategies to respond to environmental fluctuations. In this review, we discuss recent findings of the dynamics and functions of these RNA granules in plants undergoing developmental reprogramming or responding to environmental stresses. Special foci include the dynamic assembly, disassembly, and regulatory roles of these RNA granules in determining the fate of mRNAs.