Regensburg 2016 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik
CPP 36: Complex Fluids and Colloids V (joint session BP/CPP/DY, organized by DY)
CPP 36.9: Vortrag
Mittwoch, 9. März 2016, 12:15–12:30, H47
Protein phase separation controlled by phosphorylation — •David Zwicker1,2, Oliver Wüseke3, Jeffrey B. Woodruff3, Markus Decker3, Steffen Jaensch3, Anne Schwager3, Anthony A. Hyman3, and Frank Jülicher2 — 1School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University — 2Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden — 3Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden
Biological cells have to organize their proteins in space and time. Membrane-enclosed compartments, like the nucleus, are one solution to this problem. Recent discoveries show that liquid-like droplets are an alternative organization principle. To understand how phase separation can help cells to organize their proteins in space and time, we investigated the formation of the pericentriolar material (PCM), an integral part of the cell scaffold. We combine the theory of phase separation in the presence of chemical reactions with in vivo and in vitro experiments. Our work suggests that the protein responsible for forming the PCM occurs in two different states: one in which it is soluble in the cytosol and one in which it phase separates. The transition between these two states is regulated by chemical reactions that maintain the system away from thermodynamic equilibrium. This allows the cell to control the nucleation process and the growth dynamics, and thus also the droplet count and size. I will discuss the physical principles of this spatial organization, which are likely important for other cellular compartments and might also be used in technological applications.