Membrane-mediated interactions drive the condensation and coalescence of FtsZ rings.
The role of the coupling between the shape of membrane-bound filaments and the membrane is demonstrated for the dynamics of FtsZ rings on cylindrical membranes. Filaments with an arc-like spontaneous curvature, and a possible added active contractile force, are shown to spontaneously condense into tight rings, associated with a local inward deformation of the membrane. The long-range membrane-mediated interactions are attractive at short ring-ring separations, inducing further coarsening dynamics, whereby smaller rings merge to form larger and fewer rings that deform the membrane more strongly. At the same time, these interactions induce a potential barrier that can suppress further ring coalescence at a separation of about seven times the cylinder radius. These results of the model are in very good agreement with recent in-vitro experiments on the dynamics of FtsZ filaments in cylindrical liposomes. These results emphasize the important role of long-range membrane-mediated interactions in the organization of cytoskeletal elements at the membrane.
Shlomovitz
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Department of Chemical Physics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, PO Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
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D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008081:Liposomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria; D008081:Liposomes