Alternative mechanisms of structuring biomembranes: Self-assembly vs. self-organization
Abstract
We study two mechanisms for the formation of protein patterns near membranes of living cells by mathematical modelling. Self-assembly of protein domains by electrostatic lipid-protein interactions is contrasted with self-organization due to a nonequilibrium biochemical reaction cycle of proteins near the membrane. While both processes lead eventually to quite similar patterns, their evolution occurs on very different length and time scales. Self-assembly produces periodic protein patterns on a spatial scale below 0.1 micron in a few seconds followed by extremely slow coarsening, whereas self-organization results in a pattern wavelength comparable to the typical cell size of 100 micron within a few minutes suggesting different biological functions for the two processes.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.q-bio/0506033,
title = {Alternative mechanisms of structuring biomembranes: Self-assembly vs. self-organization},
author = {Karin John and Markus Baer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:q-bio/0506033},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
4 pages, 5 figures