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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 14: Posters: Protein Structure and dynamics

BP 14.18: Poster

Tuesday, April 1, 2014, 09:30–12:30, P1

Diffusion of peripheral membrane proteins on intracellular membranes — •Julia Hoffmann and Matthias Weiss — University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany

Biological processes, such as secretion and signaling in living cells, depend crucially on the diffusive properties of the involved proteins. The mobility of proteins is determined by their environment as well as by their size and thus by their ability to form oligomers. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is a common and sensitive technique to characterize the diffusive processes of proteins in vivo. We used this technique to investigate different peripheral membrane protein types, including membrane anchored Ras proteins and proteins involved in the cell’s secretion machinery. FCS measurements of membrane anchored N-Ras mutants for example, show predominantly anomalous diffusion on intracellular membranes. In contrast, FCS experiments on Sec16, a regulating protein of the COPII machinery in the early secretory pathway, show slowed diffusion on membranes of endoplasmic reticulum due to oligomerization. These insights into the diffusion and oligomerization of peripheral membrane proteins yield valuable information about physico-chemical mechanisms that support, for example, secretion events.