ترغب بنشر مسار تعليمي؟ اضغط هنا

Intracellular facilitated diffusion: searchers, crowders and blockers

210   0   0.0 ( 0 )
 نشر من قبل Chris Brackley
 تاريخ النشر 2013
  مجال البحث فيزياء
والبحث باللغة English




اسأل ChatGPT حول البحث

In bacteria, regulatory proteins search for a specific DNA binding target via facilitated diffusion: a series of rounds of 3D diffusion in the cytoplasm, and 1D linear diffusion along the DNA contour. Using large scale Brownian dynamics simulations we find that each of these steps is affected differently by crowding proteins, which can either be bound to the DNA acting as a road block to the 1D diffusion, or freely diffusing in the cytoplasm. Macromolecular crowding can strongly affect mechanistic features such as the balance between 3D and 1D diffusion, but leads to surprising robustness of the total search time.



قيم البحث

اقرأ أيضاً

Inspired by recent experiments on the effects of cytosolic crowders on the organization of bacterial chromosomes, we consider a feather-boa type model chromosome in the presence of non-additive crowders, encapsulated within a cylindrical cell. We obs erve spontaneous emergence of complementary helicity of the confined polymer and crowders. This feature is reproduced within a simplified effective model of the chromosome. This latter model further establishes the occurrence of longitudinal and transverse spatial segregation transitions between the chromosome and crowders upon increasing crowder size.
A biomimetic model of cell-cell communication was developed to probe the passive molecular transport across ion channels inserted in synthetic lipid bilayers formed between contacting droplets arranged in a linear array. Diffusion of a fluorescent pr obe across the array was measured for different pore concentrations. The diffusion characteristic time scale is found to vary non-linearly with the pore concentration. Our measurements are successfully modeled by a continuous time random walk description, whose waiting time is the first exit time from a droplet through a cluster of pores. The size of the cluster of pores is found to increase with their concentration. Our results provide a direct link between the mesoscopic permeation properties and the microscopic characteristics of the pores such as their number, size and spatial arrangement.
Respiration in bacteria involves a sequence of energetically-coupled electron and proton transfers creating an electrochemical gradient of protons (a proton-motive force) across the inner bacterial membrane. With a simple kinetic model we analyze a r edox loop mechanism of proton-motive force generation mediated by a molecular shuttle diffusing inside the membrane. This model, which includes six electron-binding and two proton-binding sites, reflects the main features of nitrate respiration in E. coli bacteria. We describe the time evolution of the proton translocation process. We find that the electron-proton electrostatic coupling on the shuttle plays a significant role in the process of energy conversion between electron and proton components. We determine the conditions where the redox loop mechanism is able to translocate protons against the transmembrane voltage gradient above 200 mV with a thermodynamic efficiency of about 37%, in the physiologically important range of temperatures from 250 to 350 K.
The diffusion-controlled limit of reaction times for site-specific DNA-binding proteins is derived from first principles. We follow the generally accepted concept that a protein propagates via two competitive modes, a three-dimensional diffusion in s pace and a one-dimensional sliding along the DNA. However, our theoretical treatment of the problem is new. The accuracy of our analytical model is verified by numerical simulations. The results confirm that the unspecific binding of protein to DNA, combined with sliding, is capable to reduce the reaction times significantly.
In living cells, protein-rich condensates can wet the cell membrane and surfaces of membrane-bound organelles. Interestingly, many phase-separating proteins also bind to membranes leading to a molecular layer of bound molecules. Here we investigate h ow binding to membranes affects surface phase transitions such as wetting and prewetting. We derive a thermodynamic theory for a three-dimensional bulk in the presence of a two-dimensional, flat membrane. Above the saturation concentration, we find that membrane binding facilitates complete wetting and lowers the wetting angle. Moreover, below the saturation concentration, binding facilitates the formation of a thick layer at the membrane and thereby shifts the prewetting phase transition far below the saturation concentration. The distinction between bound and unbound molecules near the surface leads to a large variety of prewetted states. Our work suggests that surface phase transitions combined with molecular binding represent a versatile mechanism to control the formation of protein-rich domains at intra-cellular surfaces.
التعليقات
جاري جلب التعليقات جاري جلب التعليقات
سجل دخول لتتمكن من متابعة معايير البحث التي قمت باختيارها
mircosoft-partner

هل ترغب بارسال اشعارات عن اخر التحديثات في شمرا-اكاديميا