ESCRT-III mediated cell division in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius - a reconstitution perspective

In the framework of synthetic biology, it has become an intriguing question what would be the minimal representation of cell division machinery. Thus, it seems appropriate to compare how cell division is realized in different microorganisms. Inparticular, the cell division system of Crenarchaeota lacks certain proteins found in most bacteria and Euryarchaeota, such as FtsZ, MreB or the Min system. The Sulfolobaceae family encodes functional homologs of the eukaryotic proteins vacuolar protein sorting 4(Vps4) and endosomal sorting complex required for transport-III (ESCRT-III). ESCRT-III is essential for several eukaryotic pathways, e.g., budding of intraluminal vesicles, or cytokinesis, whereas Vps4 dissociates the ESCRT-III complex from the membrane. Cell Division A(CdvA) is required for the recruitment of crenarchaeal ESCRT-III proteins to the membrane at mid-cell. The proteins polymerize and form a smaller structure during constriction. Thus, ESCRT-III mediated cell division in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius shows functional analogies to the Z ring observed in prokaryotes like Escherichia coli, which has recently begun to be reconstituted in vitro. In this short perspective, we discuss the possibility of building such an in vitro cell division system on basis of archaeal ESCRT-III

Near-critical fluctuations and cytoskeleton-assisted phase separation lead to subdiffusion in cell membranes

We address the relationship between membrane microheterogeneity and anomalous subdiffusion in cell membranes by carrying out Monte Carlo simulations of two-component lipid membranes. We find that near-critical fluctuations in the membrane lead to transient subdiffusion, while membrane-cytoskeleton interaction strongly affects phase separation, enhances subdiffusion, and eventually leads to hop diffusion of lipids. Thus, we present a minimum realistic model for membrane rafts showing the features of both microscopic phase separation and subdiffusion.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures; Supporting Material 5 pages, 1 figure, 1 tabl

Bacterial Cell Division: A Swirling Ring to Rule Them All?

SummaryFtsZ, a tubulin homologue and the major constituent of the bacterial Z ring, has been shown to assemble into curved filament bundles, which exhibit GTP-hydrolysis-dependent turnover. Surprisingly, the presence of its membrane adaptor FtsA renders this turnover directional, inducing treadmilling and collective circular motion of filaments in vitro

Phase separation and near-critical fluctuations in two-component lipid membranes: Monte Carlo simulations on experimentally relevant scales

By means of lattice-based Monte Carlo simulations, we address properties of two-component lipid membranes on the experimentally relevant spatial scales of order of a micrometer and time intervals of order of a second, using DMPC/DSPC lipid mixtures as a model system. Our large-scale simulations allowed us to obtain important results previously not reported in simulation studies of lipid membranes. We find that, within a certain range of lipid compositions, the phase transition from the fluid phase to the fluid-gel phase coexistence proceeds via near-critical fluctuations, while for other lipid compositions this phase transition has a quasi-abrupt character. In the presence of near-critical fluctuations, transient subdiffusion of lipid molecules is observed. These features of the system are stable with respect to perturbations in lipid interaction parameters used in our simulations. The line tension characterizing lipid domains in the fluid-gel coexistence region is found to be in the pN range. When approaching the critical point, the line tension, the inverse correlation length of fluid-gel spatial fluctuations, and the corresponding inverse order parameter susceptibility of the membrane vanish. All these results are in agreement with recent experimental findings for model lipid membranes. Our analysis of the domain coarsening dynamics after an abrupt quench of the membrane to the fluid-gel coexistence region reveals that lateral diffusion of lipids plays an important role in the fluid-gel phase separation process.Comment: 45 pages, 15 figure

A dynamic view of cellular processes by in vivo fluorescence auto- and cross-correlation spectroscopy

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is becoming increasingly popular as a technique that aims at complementing live cell images with biophysical information. This article provides both a short overview over recent intracellular FCS applications and a practical guide for investigators, who are seeking to integrate FCS into live cell imaging to obtain information on particle mobility, local concentrations, and molecular interactions. A brief introduction to the principles of FCS is provided, particularly emphasizing practical aspects such as the choice of appropriate dyes and positioning of the measurement volume in the sample. Possibilities and limitations in extracting parameters from autocorrelation curves are discussed, and attention is drawn to potential artifacts, such as photobleaching and probe aggregation. The principle of dual- color cross-correlation is reviewed along with considerations for proper setup and adjustment. Practical implications of nonideal conditions including incomplete focus overlap and spectral crosstalk are considered. Recent examples of both auto- and cross-correlation applications demonstrate the potential of FCS for cell biology. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved

Ultrasensitive investigations of biological systems by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) extracts information about molecular dynamics from the tiny fluctuations that can be observed in the emission of small ensembles of fluorescent molecules in thermodynamic equilibrium. Employing a confocal setup in conjunction with highly dilute samples, the average number of fluorescent particles simultaneously within the measurement volume (similar to1 fl) is minimized. Among the multitude of chemical and physical parameters accessible by FCS are local concentrations, mobility coefficients, rate constants for association and dissociation processes, and even enzyme kinetics. As any reaction causing an alteration of the primary measurement parameters such as fluorescence brightness or mobility can be monitored, the application of this noninvasive method to unravel processes in living cells is straightforward. Due to the high spatial resolution of less than 0.5 mum, selective measurements in cellular compartments, e.g., to probe receptor-ligand interactions on cell membranes, are feasible. Moreover, the observation of local molecular dynamics provides access to environmental parameters such as local oxygen concentrations, pH, or viscosity. Thus, this versatile technique is of particular attractiveness for researchers striving for quantitative assessment of interactions and dynamics of small molecular quantities in biologically relevant systems. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved

Flat-top TIRF illumination boosts DNA-PAINT imaging and quantification

Super-resolution (SR) techniques have extended the optical resolution down to a few nanometers. However, quantitative treatment of SR data remains challenging due to its complex dependence on a manifold of experimental parameters. Among the different SR variants, DNA-PAINT is relatively straightforward to implement, since it achieves the necessary 'blinking' without the use of rather complex optical or chemical activation schemes. However, it still suffers from image and quantification artifacts caused by inhomogeneous optical excitation. Here we demonstrate that several experimental challenges can be alleviated by introducing a segment-wise analysis approach and ultimately overcome by implementing a flat-top illumination profile for TIRF microscopy using a commercially-available beam-shaping device. The improvements with regards to homogeneous spatial resolution and precise kinetic information over the whole field-of-view were quantitatively assayed using DNA origami and cell samples. Our findings open the door to high-throughput DNA-PAINT studies with thus far unprecedented accuracy for quantitative data interpretation

Toward Spatially Regulated Division of Protocells: Insights into the E. coli Min System from in Vitro Studies

For reconstruction of controlled cell division in a minimal cell model, or protocell , a positioning mechanism that spatially regulates division is indispensable. In Escherichia coli , the Min protein s oscillate from pole to pole to determine the division site by inhibition of the primary divisome protein FtsZ anywhere but in the cell middle. Remarkably, when reconstituted under defined conditions in vitro , the Min proteins self - organize into spatiotem poral patterns in the presence of a lipid membrane and ATP. We review recent progress made in studying the Min system in vitro , particularly focusing on the effect s of various physicochemical parameters and boundary conditions on pattern formation . Furthermore , we discuss implications and challenges for utilizing the Min system for division site placement in proto cells