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Molecular Turing structures in the biochemistry of the cell
B. Hasslacher1, R. Kapral, A. Lawniczak
1Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545Chemical Physics Theory Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A1, CanadaDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada,CNLS, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545.
Abstract:
Reactive lattice gas automata simulations show that Turing structure can form on a mesoscopic scale and are stable to molecular fluctuations in this domain. Calculations on the Sel'kov model suggest that Turing instabilities can give rise to global spatial symmetry breaking in ATP concentration within the cell cytoplasm with a mesoscopic Turing scale well within typical cell dimensions. This leads to a new mechanism for the global breaking of energy distribution in the cell. It also leads to reappraisal of the importance of the Turing effect on extended biochemical spatial structures and energy transport available to cell morphogenesis.