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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 20: Poster IIIa

BP 20.21: Poster

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 11:00–14:30, Poster B

Phase separation on membranes with matter exchange and dimerization — •Riccardo Rossetto¹, Kueyoung Kim², and David Zwicker¹ — ¹Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization — ²Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University

Patterns form on membranes in a large variety of biological contexts. In many cases, the patterns are affected by material exchange between the membrane and the bulk. Moreover, the involved biomolecules often also form short polymers and interact unspecifically. We describe this situation with a thermodynamically consistent minimal model, which accounts for phase separation, dimerization, and material exchange between the membrane and the bulk. While these mechanisms are understood individually, interesting nonlinear effects emerge from their combination. We illustrate this by explaining experimental data from the PAR patterning system, which exhibits dimerization and membrane binding. The general conclusions from our model unveil fundamental mechanisms of pattern formation on membranes and will help us explain more biological observations in the future.

Keywords: Phase Separation; Membranes; Pattern formation; Dimerization