Size dependence of protein diffusion in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT: Diffusion in the bacterial cytoplasm is regarded as the primary method of intracellular protein movement and must play a major role in controlling the rates of cell processes. A number of recent studies have used green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagging and fluorescence microscopy to probe the movement and distribution of proteins in the bacterial cytoplasm. However, the dynamic behavior of indigenous proteins must be controlled by a complex mixture of specific interactions, combined with the basic physical constraints imposed by the viscosity and macromolecular crowding of the cytoplasm. These factors are difficult to unravel in studies with indigenous proteins. To what extent the addition of a GFP tag might affect the movement of a protein through the cytoplasm has also remained unknown.

SUBMITTER: Nenninger A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2937421 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature