Abstract
Patterns formed by reaction and diffusion are the foundation for many phenomena in biology. However, the experimental study of reaction-diffusion (R-D) systems has so far been dominated by chemical oscillators, for which many tools are available. In this work, we developed a photoswitch for the Min system of Escherichia coli, a versatile biological in vitro R-D system consisting of the antagonistic proteins MinD and MinE. A MinE-derived peptide of 19 amino acids was covalently modified with a photoisomerizable crosslinker based on azobenzene to externally control peptide-mediated depletion of MinD from the membrane. In addition to providing an on-off switch for pattern formation, we achieve frequency-locked resonance with a precise 2D spatial memory, thus allowing new insights into Min protein action on the membrane. Taken together, we provide a tool to study phenomena in pattern formation using biological agents.
| Item Type: | Journal article |
|---|---|
| Faculties: | Chemistry and Pharmacy > Department of Chemistry |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 540 Chemistry |
| ISSN: | 1433-7851 |
| Language: | English |
| Item ID: | 67432 |
| Date Deposited: | 19. Jul 2019 12:22 |
| Last Modified: | 04. Nov 2020 13:49 |
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