Premium
How crowded is the prokaryotic cytoplasm?
Author(s) -
Spitzer Jan,
Poolman Bert
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2013.05.051
Subject(s) - cytoplasm , cytosol , macromolecular crowding , crowding , cell , biology , biophysics , microbiology and biotechnology , biological system , chemistry , biochemistry , enzyme , macromolecule , neuroscience
We consider biomacromolecular crowding within the cytoplasm of prokaryotic cells as a two‐phase system of ‘supercrowded’ cytogel and ‘dilute’ cytosol; we simplify and quantify this model for a coccoid cell over a wide range of biomacromolecular crowding. The key result shows that the supercrowded cytogel extends the vectorial character of the plasma membrane deeper into the cytoplasm by about 20–70 nm. We discuss useful physiological insights that this model gives into the functioning of a prokaryotic cell on the micrometer scale.