Directing Min protein patterns with advective bulk flow
Sabrina Meindlhumer (TU Delft - Applied Sciences, Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
Fridtjof Brauns (LMU Munich)
Jernej Rudi Finžgar (LMU Munich)
Jacob Kerssemakers (Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft, TU Delft - Applied Sciences)
Cees Dekker (Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft, TU Delft - Applied Sciences)
Erwin Frey (Max Planck School Matter to Life, Munich, LMU Munich)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
The Min proteins constitute the best-studied model system for pattern formation in cell biology. We theoretically predict and experimentally show that the propagation direction of in vitro Min protein patterns can be controlled by a hydrodynamic flow of the bulk solution. We find downstream propagation of Min wave patterns for low MinE:MinD concentration ratios, upstream propagation for large ratios, but multistability of both propagation directions in between. Whereas downstream propagation can be described by a minimal model that disregards MinE conformational switching, upstream propagation can be reproduced by a reduced switch model, where increased MinD bulk concentrations on the upstream side promote protein attachment. Our study demonstrates that a differential flow, where bulk flow advects protein concentrations in the bulk, but not on the surface, can control surface-pattern propagation. This suggests that flow can be used to probe molecular features and to constrain mathematical models for pattern-forming systems.
help_outline