title: Miscibility gap in the microbial fitness landscape.
abstract: It is shown from molecular statistical considerations that a demixing instability exists in the moment space of a microbial protein expression profile. Although avoidance of demixing is generally requisite for biological function, a comparison with proteomic and genomic data suggests that many microbes lie close to the onset of this instability. Over evolutionary time scales, straying too close or into the immiscible domain may be associated with intracellular compartmentalization.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Biology, University of Tromso, N-9037 Tromso, Norway.
authors.forename: F N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paulsen
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Sear
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Warren
mesh_terms: D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016678:Genome; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D023281:Genomics; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008954:Models, Biological; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D011312:Pressure; D040901:Proteomics; D013816:Thermodynamics; D013997:Time Factors