Geometric cues stabilise long-axis polarisation of PAR protein patterns in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: In the Caenorhabditis elegans zygote, PAR protein patterns, driven by mutual anatagonism, determine the anterior-posterior axis and facilitate the redistribution of proteins for the first cell division. Yet, the factors that determine the selection of the polarity axis remain unclear. We present a reaction-diffusion model in realistic cell geometry, based on biomolecular reactions and accounting for the coupling between membrane and cytosolic dynamics. We find that the kinetics of the phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cycle of PARs and the diffusive protein fluxes from the cytosol towards the membrane are crucial for the robust selection of the anterior-posterior axis for polarisation. The local ratio of membrane surface to cytosolic volume is the main geometric cue that initiates pattern

SUBMITTER: Geßele R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6985163 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature