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Related Concept Videos

Protein Diffusion in the Membrane01:24

Protein Diffusion in the Membrane

Proteins show rotational as well as lateral diffusion across the membrane. The lateral diffusion of proteins was confirmed through the cell fusion experiment where mouse and human cells were fused, resulting in hybrid cells. When the human and mouse cells fused, the specific membrane proteins on human and mouse cells were marked with the red and green-fluorescent markers, respectively. Initially, the red and green fluorescence was located on the respective hemisphere of the cell. As time...
Prokaryotic Cells01:51

Prokaryotic Cells

Prokaryotes are small unicellular organisms that include the domains—Archaea and Bacteria. Bacteria include many common organisms, such as Salmonella and E. coli, while the Archaea include extremophiles that live in harsh environments, such as volcanic springs.Like eukaryotic cells, all prokaryotic cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane, have genetic material in the form of single, circular DNA, a cytoplasm that fills the interior of the cell, and ribosomes that synthesize proteins. However,...
Prokaryotic Cells01:28

Prokaryotic Cells

Prokaryotes are small unicellular organisms that include the domains — Archaea and Bacteria. Bacteria include many common microorganisms, such as Salmonella and E. coli, while the Archaea include extremophiles that live in harsh environments, such as volcanic springs.
Like eukaryotic cells, all prokaryotic cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane, have genetic material in the form of single, circular DNA, a cytoplasm that fills the interior of the cell, and ribosomes that synthesize proteins.
Prokaryotic cells01:51

Prokaryotic cells

Prokaryotes are small unicellular organisms that include the domains—Archaea and Bacteria. Bacteria include many common organisms, such as Salmonella and E. coli, while the Archaea include extremophiles that live in harsh environments, such as volcanic springs.Like eukaryotic cells, all prokaryotic cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane, have genetic material in the form of single, circular DNA, a cytoplasm that fills the interior of the cell, and ribosomes that synthesize proteins. However,...
Diffusion01:12

Diffusion

Diffusion is the passive movement of substances down their concentration gradients—requiring no expenditure of cellular energy. Substances, such as molecules or ions, diffuse from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration in the cytosol or across membranes. Eventually, the concentration will even out, with the substance moving randomly but causing no net change in concentration. Such a state is called dynamic equilibrium, which is essential for maintaining overall...
Diffusion01:21

Diffusion

Diffusion is a type of passive transport. In passive transport, a substance tends to move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration until the concentration is equal across the space. For example, take the diffusion of substances through the air. When someone opens a perfume bottle in a room filled with people, the perfume is at its highest concentration in the bottle and is at its lowest at the edges of the room. The perfume vapor will diffuse, or spread away, from the...

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Single-Molecule Tracking Microscopy - A Tool for Determining the Diffusive States of Cytosolic Molecules
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Published on: September 5, 2019

Macromolecule diffusion and confinement in prokaryotic cells.

Jacek T Mika1, Bert Poolman

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, Netherlands Proteomics Centre & Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Current Opinion in Biotechnology
|October 19, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Macromolecule mobility in bacteria is slower than in eukaryotes due to crowding. Diffusion barriers and size impact molecular movement, potentially limiting biological processes.

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Macromolecule mobility and spatial organization are crucial for cellular functions in live bacterial cells.
  • Understanding molecular diffusion in prokaryotes is challenging due to their small size and high macromolecule crowding.
  • Previous studies reported lower diffusion coefficients in prokaryotes compared to eukaryotes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent observations on macromolecule mobility and spatial organization in live bacterial cells.
  • To outline fluorescence microscopy methods for determining diffusion coefficients (D) in small cells.
  • To evaluate the size dependence of diffusion coefficients for various macromolecules in vivo.

Main Methods:

  • Review of fluorescence microscopy-based methods for measuring molecular mobility.
  • Analysis of in vitro experiments and modeling studies on macromolecule diffusion.
  • Evaluation of diffusion coefficients for water-soluble and integral membrane proteins.

Main Results:

  • Bacterial macromolecule crowding explains lower diffusion coefficients compared to eukaryotes.
  • Speculation on diffusion barriers for proteins and mRNAs in vivo.
  • Size-dependent diffusion coefficients for macromolecules in bacterial cells were evaluated.
  • Possibilities of anomalous diffusion were discussed.

Conclusions:

  • Macromolecule mobility in bacteria is influenced by cellular crowding and diffusion barriers.
  • Molecular diffusion can be a limiting factor for biological processes in bacteria.
  • Further research is needed to fully understand macromolecular transport in prokaryotic cells.