Min-oscillations in Escherichia coli induced by interactions of membrane-bound proteins

Abstract

During division it is of primary importance for a cell to correctly determine the site of cleavage. The bacterium Escherichia coli divides in the center, producing two daughter cells of equal size. Selection of the center as the correct division site is in part achieved by the Min-proteins. They oscillate between the two cell poles and thereby prevent division at these locations. Here, a phenomenological description for these oscillations is presented, where lateral interactions between proteins on the cell membrane play a key role. Solutions to the dynamic equations are compared to experimental findings. In particular, the temporal period of the oscillations is measured as a function of the cell length and found to be compatible with the theoretical prediction.

arXiv comment17 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Physical Biology

References in corpus (4)

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• Pattern formation inside bacteria: fluctuations due to low copy number of proteins
• Filament depolymerization by motor molecules
• Pattern formation within Escherichia coli: diffusion, membrane attachment, and self-interaction of MinD molecules

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• Critical Waves and the Length Problem of Biology
• Stochastic switching between multistable oscillation patterns of the Min-system
• Predictions from a stochastic polymer model for the MinDE dynamics in E.coli
• Modeling partitioning of Min proteins between daughter cells after septation in Escherichia coli
• Response to Halatek and Frey: Effective two-dimensional model does account for geometry sensing by self-organized proteins patterns
• A Simple Model of Cell Proliferation of Bacteria Using Min Oscillation
• Enzyme-driven phase separation