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Mobility of Min-proteins in Escherichia coli measured by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

G Meacci1,3, J Ries2,3, E Fischer-Friedrich1, N Kahya2, P Schwille2 and K Kruse1,4

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In the bacterium Escherichia coli, selection of the division site involves pole-to-pole oscillations of the proteins MinD and MinE. Different oscillation mechanisms based on cooperative effects between Min-proteins and on the exchange of Min-proteins between the cytoplasm and the cytoplasmic membrane have been proposed. The parameters characterizing the dynamics of the Min-proteins in vivo are not known. It has therefore been difficult to compare the models quantitatively with experiments. Here, we present in vivo measurements of the mobility of MinD and MinE using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Two distinct timescales are clearly visible in the correlation curves. While the faster timescale can be attributed to cytoplasmic diffusion, the slower timescale could result from diffusion of membrane-bound proteins or from protein exchange between the cytoplasm and the membrane. We determine the diffusion constant of cytoplasmic MinD to be approximately 16 µm2 s−1, while for MinE we find about 10 µm2 s−1, independently of the processes responsible for the slower time-scale. The implications of the measured values for the oscillation mechanism are discussed.


PACS

87.64.K- Spectroscopy

87.15.K- Molecular interactions; membrane-protein interactions

87.17.Jj Cell locomotion, chemotaxis

87.14.E- Proteins

87.15.M- Spectra of biomolecules

Subjects

Medical physics

Biological physics

Dates

Issue 4 (December 2006)

Received 22 September 2006, accepted for publication 9 November 2006

Published 27 November 2006

 
GFP-MinD fluorescence in E. coli at a certain phase of the oscillation cycle.


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