Berlin 2008 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 11: Transport Processes

BP 11.1: Talk

Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 15:15–15:30, C 243

Subdiffusion as an efficient intracellular sampling strategy — •Matthias Weiss and Gernot Guigas — Cellular Biophysics Group, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Bioquant Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 267, 69120 Heidelberg

Diffusion-mediated searching for interaction partners is an ubiquitous process in cell biology. Transcription factors, for example, search specific DNA sequences, signaling proteins aim at interacting with specific co-factors, and peripheral membrane proteins try to dock to membrane domains. Brownian motion, however, is affected by molecular crowding that induces subdiffusion of proteins and larger structures, thereby compromising diffusive transport and the associated sampling processes. Contrary to the naive expectation that subdiffusion obstructs cellular processes we show here by computer simulations that subdiffusion rather increases the probability of finding a nearby target. Consequently, important events like protein complex formation and signal propagation are enhanced as compared to normal diffusion. Hence, cells indeed benefit from their crowded internal state and the associated anomalous diffusion.