Diffusion NMR and Rheology Study of a Model Polymer and a Disordered Protein in the Presence of Bacterial Cell Lysate Crowders

Abstract

The intracellular milieu has a macromolecular concentration up to 400 mg/ml, making the environment crowded and heterogeneous. Macromolecular crowding has been traditionally studied in artificial crowders like Ficoll and Dextran. Macromolecular crowding can modify processes such as protein- protein interactions, protein folding, ligand binding and aggregation. It is not clear if the effects of artificial crowders on such phenomena are the same as the effect of biological crowders. Biological crowders, such as bacterial cell lysate, are heterogeneous biomolecules with different sizes, shapes and charges.