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Enzyme-Enriched Condensates Show Self-Propulsion, Positioning, and Coexistence
Leonardo Demarchi1, Andriy Goychuk1, Ivan Maryshev1
1Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics and Center for NanoScience, Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Theresienstraße 37, D-80333 München, Germany.
Physical Review Letters
|April 7, 2023
Summary
Enzyme condensates organize substrates via reactions. Stronger feedback between substrate distribution and enzyme movement causes self-propulsion and dynamic behaviors like division.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Chemical Biology
- Soft Matter Physics
Background:
- Enzyme-driven reactions can create spatial organization.
- Substrate gradients can influence enzyme localization and movement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the dynamic behaviors of enzyme-enriched condensates.
- To explore the feedback loop between enzyme activity and substrate distribution.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling of reaction-diffusion systems.
- Simulations of enzyme-enriched condensates in confining domains.
Main Results:
- Weak feedback leads to condensate centralization.
- Above a threshold, feedback induces self-propulsion and oscillations.
- Catalysis-driven fluxes cause interrupted coarsening and condensate division.
Conclusions:
- Enzyme-substrate feedback is crucial for emergent dynamic behaviors in condensates.
- These dynamics, including division and positioning, have implications for cellular organization.
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