Spatio-temporal positioning of nanoagents by protein self-organization

The past funding phases were devoted to the biophysical elucidation of reaction-diffusion mechanisms for protein self-organization and pattern formation, to the point of actually designing patterns de novo by the engineering of functional modules of the MinDE protein system from E.coli. For the current funding phase, we proposed to apply our acquired knowledge about the emergence of spatiotemporal protein patterns to actually position functional nanoagents beyond the level of single protein molecules. In this way, our insights gained over the past years into the bottom-up design of protein pattern formation can perfectly contribute to the overall goal of the CRC. Regarding the protein systems that are supposed to be harnessed for the directed transport of supramolecular cargo, such as vesicles and biofunctionalized nano-particles, we will first explore the possibility of particle positioning on 2D membranes through the MinDE system. In 2018, we made the surprising finding that the Min protein waves can directionally transport completely unrelated membrane-attached proteins by a so far unknown mechanism based on a propagating diffusion barrier. The possibility of scaling this up to the transport of membrane-attached vesicles and beads will be evaluated. Furthermore, we aim to reconstitute in vitro the Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense magnetosome transport system on filaments based on the protein machinery MamYJK. The interesting potential of this system to spatiotemporally position magnetosomes as supramolecular biological nanoagents has been described, but so far not been reconstituted in vitro.