Surface waves of Min-proteins

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Author)
  • Romain Nguyen van yen - (Author)
  • Karsten Kruse - (Author)

Abstract

In the bacterium Escherichia coli, the Min-proteins show pronounced pole-to-pole oscillations. They are functional for suppressing cell division at the cell ends, leaving the center as the only possible site for division. Analyzing different models of Min-protein dynamics in a bacterial geometry, we find waves on the cytoplasmic membrane. Interestingly, the surface wave solutions of different models belong to different symmetry classes. We suggest that experiments on Min-protein surface waves in vitro are helpful in distinguishing between different classes of models of Min-protein dynamics.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)38-47
Number of pages10
JournalPhysical biology
Volume4
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 22 Mar 2007
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

Scopus 34147126292
ORCID /0000-0002-2433-916X/work/142250449

Keywords

Keywords

  • Adenosine Triphosphatases/chemistry, Cell Cycle Proteins/chemistry, Cell Division, Cell Membrane/metabolism, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins/chemistry, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Models, Biological, Protein Transport, Stochastic Processes