We review recent observations on the mobility of macromolecules and their spatial organization in live bacterial cells. We outline the major fluorescence microscopy-based methods to determine the mobility and thus the diffusion coefficients (D) of molecules, which is not trivial in small cells. The extremely high macromolecule crowding of prokaryotes is used to rationalize the reported lower diffusion coefficients as compared to eukaryotes, and we speculate on the nature of the barriers for diffusion observed for proteins (and mRNAs) in vivo. Building on in vitro experiments and modeling studies, we evaluate the size dependence of diffusion coefficients for macromolecules in vivo, in case of both water-soluble and integral membrane proteins. We comment on the possibilities of anomalous diffusion and provide examples where the macromolecule mobility may be limiting biological processes.
SEEK ID: https://fairdomhub.org/publications/120
PubMed ID: 20952181
Projects: KOSMOBAC
Publication type: Not specified
Journal: Curr. Opin. Biotechnol.
Citation:
Date Published: 16th Oct 2010
Registered Mode: Not specified
Views: 4615
Created: 28th May 2011 at 15:01
Last updated: 8th Dec 2022 at 17:26
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