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Geometry-induced protein pattern formation.

Dominik Thalmeier1, Jacob Halatek2, Erwin Frey3

  • 1Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, D-80333 Munich, Germany; Center for NanoScience, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, D-80333 Munich, Germany; Donders Institute, Radboud University, 6525 EZ Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Biophysics, Radboud University, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|January 8, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Protein patterns adapt to cell geometry, forming spatial templates without dynamic instability. A generic module explains how proteins sense cell shape, like in Escherichia coli, for cell division and polarity.

Keywords:
Min systemcell polaritygeometry sensingnonlinear dynamicspattern formation

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Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Biophysics
  • Systems biology

Background:

  • Protein patterns act as spatial templates, guiding cell polarity and division.
  • Existing models focus on dynamic instabilities, neglecting geometry's role in pattern formation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how pattern-forming proteins sense and respond to cell geometry.
  • To propose a generic mechanism for geometry-driven protein pattern formation.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a generic reaction module involving an NTPase protein cycling between states.
  • Analyzed protein dynamics in response to varying cell geometries (elongated vs. spherical).
  • Applied the model to explain existing patterns in Escherichia coli.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated pattern emergence solely from adaptation to cell geometry, without dynamic instability.
  • Showed a generic module robustly adapts protein densities to spatial symmetry.
  • Identified sensing of membrane area to cytosolic volume ratio as a key mechanism.
  • Explained bipolar patterns in Escherichia coli MinD.

Conclusions:

  • Protein patterns can arise from direct adaptation to cell geometry.
  • The proposed mechanism provides a universal way for proteins to sense cell shape.
  • This mechanism is applicable to various bacterial systems and synthetic biology.
  • Robustness allows for evolutionary optimization of protein patterns.