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Imaging coexisting fluid domains in biomembrane models coupling curvature and line tension

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  • Tobias Baumgart

    (Cornell University)

  • Samuel T. Hess

    (National Institutes of Health)

  • Watt W. Webb

    (Cornell University)

Abstract

Lipid bilayer membranes—ubiquitous in biological systems and closely associated with cell function—exhibit rich shape-transition behaviour, including bud formation1 and vesicle fission2. Membranes formed from multiple lipid components can laterally separate into coexisting liquid phases, or domains, with distinct compositions. This process, which may resemble raft formation in cell membranes, has been directly observed in giant unilamellar vesicles3,4. Detailed theoretical frameworks5,6,7,8,9,10,11 link the elasticity of domains and their boundary properties to the shape adopted by membranes and the formation of particular domain patterns, but it has been difficult to experimentally probe and validate these theories. Here we show that high-resolution fluorescence imaging using two dyes preferentially labelling different fluid phases directly provides a correlation between domain composition and local membrane curvature. Using freely suspended membranes of giant unilamellar vesicles, we are able to optically resolve curvature and line tension interactions of circular, stripe and ring domains. We observe long-range domain ordering in the form of locally parallel stripes and hexagonal arrays of circular domains, curvature-dependent domain sorting, and membrane fission into separate vesicles at domain boundaries. By analysing our observations using available membrane theory, we are able to provide experimental estimates of boundary tension between fluid bilayer domains.

Suggested Citation

  • Tobias Baumgart & Samuel T. Hess & Watt W. Webb, 2003. "Imaging coexisting fluid domains in biomembrane models coupling curvature and line tension," Nature, Nature, vol. 425(6960), pages 821-824, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:425:y:2003:i:6960:d:10.1038_nature02013
    DOI: 10.1038/nature02013
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    Cited by:

    1. Barg, Michael C. & Mangum, Amanda J., 2019. "A phase separation problem and geodesic disks on Cassinian oval surfaces," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 354(C), pages 192-205.
    2. Nebojsa Jukic & Alma P. Perrino & Frédéric Humbert & Aurélien Roux & Simon Scheuring, 2022. "Snf7 spirals sense and alter membrane curvature," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Zhao, Shubo & Xiao, Xufeng & Feng, Xinlong, 2020. "An efficient time adaptivity based on chemical potential for surface Cahn–Hilliard equation using finite element approximation," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 369(C).
    4. Rower, David A. & Atzberger, Paul J., 2023. "Coarse-grained methods for heterogeneous vesicles with phase-separated domains: Elastic mechanics of shape fluctuations, plate compression, and channel insertion," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 342-361.

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