Abstract
The Min system, a system that determines the bacterial cell division plane, uses changes in the localization of proteins (a Min wave) that emerges by reaction-diffusion coupling. Although previous studies have shown that space sizes and boundaries modulate the shape and speed of Min waves, their effects on wave emergence were still elusive. Here, by using a microsized fully confined space to mimic live cells, we revealed that confinement changes the conditions for the emergence of Min waves. In the microsized space, an increased surface-to-volume ratio changed the localization efficiency of proteins on membranes, and therefore, suppression of the localization change was necessary for the stable generation of Min waves. Furthermore, we showed that the cell-sized space strictly limits parameters for wave emergence because confinement inhibits both the instability and excitability of the system. These results show that confinement of reaction-diffusion systems has the potential to control spatiotemporal patterns in live cells.
Highlights
Spatiotemporal self-organization of biomolecules in cells takes on a fundamental mechanism to maintain cellular structure
The Min wave in open geometry has been well characterized in many laboratories (8, 11, 13), and has been reproduced by using materials prepared in our laboratory
Min wave emergence in the microdroplets covered with E. coli polar lipids (Figure 1C, Video 1)
Summary
Spatiotemporal self-organization of biomolecules in cells takes on a fundamental mechanism to maintain cellular structure. The Min system precisely places the division site at the center of the cell by using iRD (5, 6). This system comprises three proteins called MinC, MinD, and MinE with localization of MinD and MinE oscillating between one pole to the other by a coupling between biochemical reactions and molecular diffusions (6, 7). MinC has no role in the Min wave but rather inhibits polymerization of a cell division initiation factor (FtsZ) by following the Min wave. This process enforces initiation of cell division only at the center of cells (5, 6)
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