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In Vitro Reconstitution of Self-Organizing Protein Patterns on Supported Lipid Bilayers

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Dynamic instability-driven centering/segregating mechanism in bacteria.

Kirstin R Purdy Drew¹, Joe Pogliano

¹Joint Science Department, W. M. Keck Science Center, Claremont McKenna, Scripps, and Pitzer Colleges, 925 North Mills Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711, USA. krp15@psu.edu

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|June 21, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Dynamically unstable filaments drive bacterial intracellular positioning. This mechanism guides molecules to cell centers or poles, with positioning dependent on cell length and filament dynamics.

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Area of Science:

Cell biology
Biophysics
Microbiology

Background:

Cells must spatially organize molecules for function.
Intracellular positioning mechanisms, especially for DNA and protein complexes, remain poorly understood.
Dynamic instability of polymerizing filaments is a potential driver for positioning.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose and validate a computational model for a bimodal centering/segregation mechanism in bacteria.
To investigate the role of dynamic filament instability in intracellular positioning.
To explore the cell-length dependence of positioning mechanisms.

Main Methods:

Computational modeling of filament dynamics and positioning.
In vivo time-lapse microscopy and colocalization measurements in Bacillus subtilis.
Experimental validation of a model system using plasmid DNA and actin-like filaments (Alp7A).

Main Results:

A bimodal mechanism driven by dynamic filament instability explains both cell centering and segregation.
Experimental data confirmed computational model predictions for plasmid-DNA centering by Alp7A filaments.
Positioning ability is strongly dependent on cell length, with pole positioning favored in shorter cells.
Dynamically unstable filaments provide a general mechanism for both midcell and pole positioning.

Conclusions:

Dynamically unstable filaments are a general and versatile mechanism for intracellular positioning in bacteria.
Filament polymerization rates and number are key factors in selecting desired positioning (midcell vs. pole).
This mechanism offers insights into fundamental cellular organization principles across various organisms.