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Biophysics of Proteins at Surfaces: Assembly, Activation, Signaling
Thursday Speaker Abstracts
The Role of the Membrane in Protein Pattern Formation
Petra Schwille
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Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Planegg, Germany.
The Min protein system of the bacterium Escherichia coli is a beautiful example of how protein
self-organization and pattern formation occurs in the fluid phase and on membranes via reaction-
diffusion. Reconstituted onto supported or free-standing membranes, and supplied with energy in
the form of ATP, the proteins MinD and MinE, which are in live cells responsible for positioning
the cell division machinery, self-organize into parallel concentration waves that can be faithfully
directed by structuring the membrane laterally or topologically. In my talk I will discuss the role
of membrane binding in the emergence of patterns and protein gradients, and highlight the
archetypical role that switchable membrane anchors, such as lipidation, may have in many
polarity and/or pattern forming systems in biology. I will further discuss the role of membrane
structure and topology on the emergence of Min patterns, and briefly explore the role of
membrane charge and local lipid order. Finally, I will develop our concept of reconstituting a
minimal version of cell division based on the essential modules of the bacterial divisome.