Self-organisation of Min proteins is responsible for the spatial control of cell division in Escherichia coli, and has been studied both in vivo and in vitro. Intriguingly, the protein patterns observed in these settings differ qualitatively and quantitatively. This puzzling dichotomy has not been resolved to date. Using reconstituted proteins in laterally wide microchambers with a well-controlled height, we show that the Min protein dynamics on the membrane crucially depend on bulk gradients normal to the membrane. A theoretical analysis shows that in vitro patterns at low bulk height are driven by the same lateral oscillation mode as pole-to-pole oscillations in vivo. At larger bulk height, additional vertical oscillation modes set in, marking the transition to a qualitatively different in vitro regime. Our work qualitatively resolves the Min system's in vivo/in vitro conundrum and provides important insights on the mechanisms underlying protein patterns in bulk- surface coupled systems.

中文翻译：

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体表耦合调节体内和体外的最小蛋白模式形成

Min蛋白的自组织负责大肠杆菌中细胞分裂的空间控制，并且已经在体内和体外进行了研究。有趣的是，在这些情况下观察到的蛋白质模式在质量和数量上都不同。迄今为止，这种令人困惑的二分法尚未解决。在高度可控的横向宽微室中使用重组蛋白，我们显示膜上的Min蛋白动力学至关重要地取决于垂直于膜的体积梯度。理论分析表明，低体积高度的体外模式是由与体内极对极振荡相同的横向振荡模式驱动的。在更大的体积高度上，会设置其他垂直振荡模式，这标志着向定性不同的体外机制的过渡。