BPCPPDYSOE21 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 22: Focus Phase Separation in Biological Systems II (joint session BP/CPP)
BP 22.2: Talk
Tuesday, March 23, 2021, 14:20–14:50, BPb
Parasitic Behavior in Competing Dissipative Reaction Cycles — •Patrick Schwarz1, Sudarshana Laha3,4, Jacqueline Janssen3,4, Tabea Huss1, Christoph A. Weber3,4, and Job Boekhoven1,2 — 1Department of Chemistry, Technische Universitat München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, 85748 Garching, Germany — 2Institute for Advanced Study, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 2a, 85748 Garching, Germany — 3Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Nöthnitzer Str. 38, 01187 Dresden, Germany — 4Center for Systems Biology Dresden, CSBD, Dresden, Germany
Fuel-driven reaction cycles serve as model systems of the intricate reaction network of life. Rich and dynamic behavior is observed when such reaction cycles regulate phase separation or assembly. However, it remains unclear how the interplay between multiple reaction cycles affects their fate. To tackle this question, we created a library of precursor molecules that compete for a common fuel to transiently activate products. Generally, the competition for fuel means that a competitor decreases the success of the cycle. However, in cases where the transient competitor product can phase separate, this relation can be inverted. The presence of assemblies formed by such a competitor can increase the survival time of one product, analogous to how the presence of a host can increase the survival time of a parasite. Our study of such a parasitic behavior in multiple fuel-driven reaction cycles represents a lifelike trait, paving the way for bottom-up design of synthetic life.