Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 8: Poster I

BP 8.12: Poster

Monday, March 16, 2020, 17:30–19:30, P2/1OG

Cross-diffusion induced patterns for a single step catalytic reaction — •Giovanni Giunta^1,2, Hamid Seyed-Allaei¹, and Ulrich Gerland¹ — ¹Physics Department, Technical University Munich (TUM), Garching, Germany — ²Quantitative Biosciences Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany

There is mounting evidence that the motion of a given enzyme depends on the concentration of the corresponding substrate. Experiments performed in solution show that the higher the concentration of substrate, the higher the diffusion coefficient of the enzyme. Moreover experiments performed in steady gradients of substrate have also shown that cross-diffusive effects may be playing an important role. Here we analyze the different models proposed so far and we focus on the effects that the reaction has in shaping the substrate concentration, which in turns has an effect on the enzyme motion. We show that spatial patterns form when cross-diffusion and enhanced diffusion both contribute to the accumulation of enzymes in regions with low concentrations of substrate. In this scenario, the reaction causes gradients of substrate to get steeper, which in turns causes the enzyme to further accumulate where substrate is low. Experimental evidence of pattern formation could be used to discern between the different models proposed so far.