Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 16: Membranes, Vesicles and Synthetic Life-like Systems II

BP 16.8: Talk

Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 11:45–12:00, BAR/0205

Optimizing Dynamin for Membrane Fission — •Russell Spencer and Marcus Muller — Georg-August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

Membrane tube fission is a fundamental cellular process, facilitated by the dynamin protein family. The primary energetic barrier to fission arises from the (constriction-catalyzed) collapse of the tube into a hemifused intermediate. We previously developed a self-consistent field theory (SCFT) framework to systematically study this process, and validated it against experiments. The precise mechanisms by which dynamin promotes this transition, however, remain unclear. We now model membrane tubes in the presence of dynamin-like proteins, incorporating both steric constriction and surface interactions. We explore the effect of different protein-membrane coupling mechanisms on the fission barrier, including excluded volume, head-group adhesion, and leaflet splay. While membrane attraction is necessary for protein assembly and induces curvature, it also opposes local constriction, inhibiting tube collapse. In contrast, insertion of the PH domain into the head groups leads to their splaying and produces a localized chevron-shaped membrane deformation. This facilitates tube collapse without opposing local constriction, thus promoting fission.

Keywords: Fission; Optimization; Dynamin