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AA - Statistical Physics and Interdisciplinary Applications
Cell membrane patterning via diffusion-controlled phase separation
keywords MEMBRANES, PHASE SEPARATION, STATISTICAL PHYSICS
Reference persons ANDREA ANTONIO GAMBA
Research Groups AA - Statistical Physics and Interdisciplinary Applications
Thesis type MASTER THESIS
Description Biochemical feedback loops coupled to diffusion provide a general mechanism for the generation of domains enriched in specific molecular factors on cell membranes. Such domains play a fundamental role in cell physiology, being involved in migration, the generation of well-formed multicellular architectures, and the distillation of specific molecular factors [1-4]. The thesis will focus on the characterization of the hydrodynamic behavior of these domains, and on the coarse-grained description of their generation and growth as a phase-separation process.
[1] E. Floris et al, Physics of compartmentalization: How phase separation and signaling shape membrane and organelle identity, Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal 19, 3225–3233, 2021
[2] J. Kirschbaum and D. Zwicker, Controlling biomolecular condensates via chemical reactions, Journal of the Royal Society Interface 18, 20210255, 2021
[3] A. Gamba et al., Diffusion-limited phase separation in eukaryotic chemotaxis, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102, 16927, 2005
[4] M. Zamparo et al, Optimality in self-organized molecular sorting, Physical Review Letters 126, 088101, 2021
Required skills Good background in Statistical and Computational Physics. Good knowledge of the Julia programming language.
Deadline 30/03/2024
PROPONI LA TUA CANDIDATURA