Biological patterns are found on different scales in nature, ranging from organisms to molecules. At the protein level, the Min system demonstrates the beauty of these biological patterns, which occur through protein self-organization on the membrane surface. In the April 23 issue of Biophysical Journal, we report that the propagating Min protein waves on the membrane surface can not only induce redistribution of the membrane component, but also establish a concentration gradient of the membrane component within the membrane due to a steric repulsion mechanism. The membrane component includes lipids and proteins that are anchored on the membrane surface, or associated with the membrane, or embedded in the membrane. Thus, dynamical patterns associated with protein self-organization can provide a biological function to segregate the components in the membrane.
These key points are emphasized in the cover image by using the time-lapse microscopy data with an artistic touch. Micrographs at four sequential time points (from left to right) are used to demonstrate the features of the membrane component waves in correspondence with the propagating Min protein waves. The top panel shows the merged micrographs that were acquired from three different channels, including the membrane component channel (the second panel, in green), the MinD channel (the third panel, in red), and the MinE channel (the fourth panel, in cyan). The spatiotemporal information was extracted from these images and the difference between three channels was discussed in our article.
These membrane component waves resembled beautiful embossed patterns on the membrane surface under the microscope! Our work demonstrates the beauty of the membrane patterns induced by protein self-organization, as well as points at the potential function of protein pattern formation.
More information about our research can be found on at Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica.
- Ling-Ting Huang, Yu-Ming Tu, Bo-Fan Lee, Yu-Chiuan Bau, Chia Yee Hong, Hsiao-lin Lee, Yan-Ping Shih, Min-Feng Hsu, Jui-Szu Chen, Zheng-Xin Lu, Ling Chao, Yu-Ling Shih