@misc{ShinCherstvyMetzler2014, author = {Shin, Jaeoh and Cherstvy, Andrey G. and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Kinetics of polymer looping with macromolecular crowding: effects of volume fraction and crowder size}, publisher = {The Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-76961}, pages = {472 -- 488}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The looping of polymers such as DNA is a fundamental process in the molecular biology of living cells, whose interior is characterised by a high degree of molecular crowding. We here investigate in detail the looping dynamics of flexible polymer chains in the presence of different degrees of crowding. From the analysis of the looping-unlooping rates and the looping probabilities of the chain ends we show that the presence of small crowders typically slows down the chain dynamics but larger crowders may in fact facilitate the looping. We rationalise these non-trivial and often counterintuitive effects of the crowder size on the looping kinetics in terms of an effective solution viscosity and standard excluded volume. It is shown that for small crowders the effect of an increased viscosity dominates, while for big crowders we argue that confinement effects (caging) prevail. The tradeoff between both trends can thus result in the impediment or facilitation of polymer looping, depending on the crowder size. We also examine how the crowding volume fraction, chain length, and the attraction strength of the contact groups of the polymer chain affect the looping kinetics and hairpin formation dynamics. Our results are relevant for DNA looping in the absence and presence of protein mediation, DNA hairpin formation, RNA folding, and the folding of polypeptide chains under biologically relevant high-crowding conditions.}, language = {en} } @misc{SchroenKoehliScheiffeleetal.2017, author = {Schr{\"o}n, Martin and K{\"o}hli, Markus and Scheiffele, Lena and Iwema, Joost and Bogena, Heye R. and Lv, Ling and Martini, Edoardo and Baroni, Gabriele and Rosolem, Rafael and Weimar, Jannis and Mai, Juliane and Cuntz, Matthias and Rebmann, Corinna and Oswald, Sascha and Dietrich, Peter and Schmidt, Ulrich and Zacharias, Steffen}, title = {Improving calibration and validation of cosmic-ray neutron sensors in the light of spatial sensitivity}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {636}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-41913}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-419134}, pages = {5009 -- 5030}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In the last few years the method of cosmic-ray neutron sensing (CRNS) has gained popularity among hydrologists, physicists, and land-surface modelers. The sensor provides continuous soil moisture data, averaged over several hectares and tens of decimeters in depth. However, the signal still may contain unidentified features of hydrological processes, and many calibration datasets are often required in order to find reliable relations between neutron intensity and water dynamics. Recent insights into environmental neutrons accurately described the spatial sensitivity of the sensor and thus allowed one to quantify the contribution of individual sample locations to the CRNS signal. Consequently, data points of calibration and validation datasets are suggested to be averaged using a more physically based weighting approach. In this work, a revised sensitivity function is used to calculate weighted averages of point data. The function is different from the simple exponential convention by the extraordinary sensitivity to the first few meters around the probe, and by dependencies on air pressure, air humidity, soil moisture, and vegetation. The approach is extensively tested at six distinct monitoring sites: two sites with multiple calibration datasets and four sites with continuous time series datasets. In all cases, the revised averaging method improved the performance of the CRNS products. The revised approach further helped to reveal hidden hydrological processes which otherwise remained unexplained in the data or were lost in the process of overcalibration. The presented weighting approach increases the overall accuracy of CRNS products and will have an impact on all their applications in agriculture, hydrology, and modeling.}, language = {en} } @misc{PudellMaznevHerzogetal.2018, author = {Pudell, Jan-Etienne and Maznev, Alexei and Herzog, Marc and Kronseder, M. and Back, Christian and Malinowski, Gregory and von Reppert, Alexander and Bargheer, Matias}, title = {Layer specific observation of slow thermal equilibration in ultrathin metallic nanostructures by femtosecond X-ray diffraction}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {797}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-42623}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-426233}, pages = {7}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Ultrafast heat transport in nanoscale metal multilayers is of great interest in the context of optically induced demagnetization, remagnetization and switching. If the penetration depth of light exceeds the bilayer thickness, layer-specific information is unavailable from optical probes. Femtosecond diffraction experiments provide unique experimental access to heat transport over single digit nanometer distances. Here, we investigate the structural response and the energy flow in the ultrathin double-layer system: gold on ferromagnetic nickel. Even though the excitation pulse is incident from the Au side, we observe a very rapid heating of the Ni lattice, whereas the Au lattice initially remains cold. The subsequent heat transfer from Ni to the Au lattice is found to be two orders of magnitude slower than predicted by the conventional heat equation and much slower than electron-phonon coupling times in Au. We present a simplified model calculation highlighting the relevant thermophysical quantities.}, language = {en} } @misc{NakamuraClaesGrebeetal.2018, author = {Nakamura, Moritaka and Claes, Andrea R. and Grebe, Tobias and Hermkes, Rebecca and Viotti, Corrado and Ikeda, Yoshihisa and Grebe, Markus}, title = {Auxin and ROP GTPase signaling of polar nuclear migration in root epidermal hair cells}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {992}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-44127}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-441278}, pages = {378 -- 391}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Polar nuclear migration is crucial during the development of diverse eukaryotes. In plants, root hair growth requires polar nuclear migration into the outgrowing hair. However, knowledge about the dynamics and the regulatory mechanisms underlying nuclear movements in root epidermal cells remains limited. Here, we show that both auxin and Rho-of-Plant (ROP) signaling modulate polar nuclear position at the inner epidermal plasma membrane domain oriented to the cortical cells during cell elongation as well as subsequent polar nuclear movement to the outer domain into the emerging hair bulge in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Auxin signaling via the nuclear AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR7 (ARF7)/ARF19 and INDOLE ACETIC ACID7 pathway ensures correct nuclear placement toward the inner membrane domain. Moreover, precise inner nuclear placement relies on SPIKE1 Rho-GEF, SUPERCENTIPEDE1 Rho-GDI, and ACTIN7 (ACT7) function and to a lesser extent on VTI11 vacuolar SNARE activity. Strikingly, the directionality and/or velocity of outer polar nuclear migration into the hair outgrowth along actin strands also are ACT7 dependent, auxin sensitive, and regulated by ROP signaling. Thus, our findings provide a founding framework revealing auxin and ROP signaling of inner polar nuclear position with some contribution by vacuolar morphology and of actin-dependent outer polar nuclear migration in root epidermal hair cells.}, language = {en} } @misc{LevermannWinkelmann2016, author = {Levermann, Anders and Winkelmann, Ricarda}, title = {A simple equation for the melt elevation feedback of ice sheets}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {529}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-40983}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-409834}, pages = {9}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In recent decades, the Greenland Ice Sheet has been losing mass and has thereby contributed to global sea-level rise. The rate of ice loss is highly relevant for coastal protection worldwide. The ice loss is likely to increase under future warming. Beyond a critical temperature threshold, a meltdown of the Greenland Ice Sheet is induced by the self-enforcing feedback between its lowering surface elevation and its increasing surface mass loss: the more ice that is lost, the lower the ice surface and the warmer the surface air temperature, which fosters further melting and ice loss. The computation of this rate so far relies on complex numerical models which are the appropriate tools for capturing the complexity of the problem. By contrast we aim here at gaining a conceptual understanding by deriving a purposefully simple equation for the self-enforcing feedback which is then used to estimate the melt time for different levels of warming using three observable characteristics of the ice sheet itself and its surroundings. The analysis is purely conceptual in nature. It is missing important processes like ice dynamics for it to be useful for applications to sea-level rise on centennial timescales, but if the volume loss is dominated by the feedback, the resulting logarithmic equation unifies existing numerical simulations and shows that the melt time depends strongly on the level of warming with a critical slow-down near the threshold: the median time to lose 10\% of the present-day ice volume varies between about 3500 years for a temperature level of 0.5 degrees C above the threshold and 500 years for 5 degrees C. Unless future observations show a significantly higher melting sensitivity than currently observed, a complete meltdown is unlikely within the next 2000 years without significant ice-dynamical contributions.}, language = {en} } @misc{LaraNitzeGrosseetal.2018, author = {Lara, Mark J. and Nitze, Ingmar and Große, Guido and McGuire, David}, title = {Tundra landform and vegetation productivity trend maps for the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1035}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-45987}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-459875}, pages = {12}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Arctic tundra landscapes are composed of a complex mosaic of patterned ground features, varying in soil moisture, vegetation composition, and surface hydrology over small spatial scales (10-100 m). The importance of microtopography and associated geomorphic landforms in influencing ecosystem structure and function is well founded, however, spatial data products describing local to regional scale distribution of patterned ground or polygonal tundra geomorphology are largely unavailable. Thus, our understanding of local impacts on regional scale processes (e.g., carbon dynamics) may be limited. We produced two key spatiotemporal datasets spanning the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (similar to 60,000 km(2)) to evaluate climate-geomorphological controls on arctic tundra productivity change, using (1) a novel 30m classification of polygonal tundra geomorphology and (2) decadal-trends in surface greenness using the Landsat archive (1999-2014). These datasets can be easily integrated and adapted in an array of local to regional applications such as (1) upscaling plot-level measurements (e.g., carbon/energy fluxes), (2) mapping of soils, vegetation, or permafrost, and/or (3) initializing ecosystem biogeochemistry, hydrology, and/or habitat modeling.}, language = {en} } @misc{KumarHesseRaoetal.2020, author = {Kumar, Rohini and Hesse, Fabienne and Rao, P. Srinivasa and Musolff, Andreas and Jawitz, James and Sarrazin, Francois and Samaniego, Luis and Fleckenstein, Jan H. and Rakovec, Oldrich and Thober, S. and Attinger, Sabine}, title = {Strong hydroclimatic controls on vulnerability to subsurface nitrate contamination across Europe}, series = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-54987}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-549875}, pages = {12}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Subsurface contamination due to excessive nutrient surpluses is a persistent and widespread problem in agricultural areas across Europe. The vulnerability of a particular location to pollution from reactive solutes, such as nitrate, is determined by the interplay between hydrologic transport and biogeochemical transformations. Current studies on the controls of subsurface vulnerability do not consider the transient behaviour of transport dynamics in the root zone. Here, using state-of-the-art hydrologic simulations driven by observed hydroclimatic forcing, we demonstrate the strong spatiotemporal heterogeneity of hydrologic transport dynamics and reveal that these dynamics are primarily controlled by the hydroclimatic gradient of the aridity index across Europe. Contrasting the space-time dynamics of transport times with reactive timescales of denitrification in soil indicate that similar to 75\% of the cultivated areas across Europe are potentially vulnerable to nitrate leaching for at least onethird of the year. We find that neglecting the transient nature of transport and reaction timescale results in a great underestimation of the extent of vulnerable regions by almost 50\%. Therefore, future vulnerability and risk assessment studies must account for the transient behaviour of transport and biogeochemical transformation processes.}, language = {en} } @misc{JingKumarHesseetal.2020, author = {Jing, Miao and Kumar, Rohini and Heße, Falk and Thober, Stephan and Rakovec, Oldrich and Samaniego, Luis and Attinger, Sabine}, title = {Assessing the response of groundwater quantity and travel time distribution to 1.5, 2, and 3 °C global warming in a mesoscale central German basin}, series = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {3}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-50934}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-509343}, pages = {18}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Groundwater is the biggest single source of high-quality freshwater worldwide, which is also continuously threatened by the changing climate. In this paper, we investigate the response of the regional groundwater system to climate change under three global warming levels (1.5, 2, and 3 ∘C) in a central German basin (N{\"a}gelstedt). This investigation is conducted by deploying an integrated modeling workflow that consists of a mesoscale hydrologic model (mHM) and a fully distributed groundwater model, OpenGeoSys (OGS). mHM is forced with climate simulations of five general circulation models under three representative concentration pathways. The diffuse recharges estimated by mHM are used as boundary forcings to the OGS groundwater model to compute changes in groundwater levels and travel time distributions. Simulation results indicate that groundwater recharges and levels are expected to increase slightly under future climate scenarios. Meanwhile, the mean travel time is expected to decrease compared to the historical average. However, the ensemble simulations do not all agree on the sign of relative change. Changes in mean travel time exhibit a larger variability than those in groundwater levels. The ensemble simulations do not show a systematic relationship between the projected change (in both groundwater levels and travel times) and the warming level, but they indicate an increased variability in projected changes with adjusting the enhanced warming level from 1.5 to 3 ∘C. Correspondingly, it is highly recommended to restrain the trend of global warming.}, language = {en} } @misc{JeonChechkinMetzler2014, author = {Jeon, Jae-Hyung and Chechkin, Aleksei V. and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Scaled Brownian motion: a paradoxical process with a time dependent diffusivity for the description of anomalous diffusion}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-76302}, pages = {15811 -- 15817}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Anomalous diffusion is frequently described by scaled Brownian motion (SBM){,} a Gaussian process with a power-law time dependent diffusion coefficient. Its mean squared displacement is ?x2(t)? [similar{,} equals] 2K(t)t with K(t) [similar{,} equals] t[small alpha]-1 for 0 < [small alpha] < 2. SBM may provide a seemingly adequate description in the case of unbounded diffusion{,} for which its probability density function coincides with that of fractional Brownian motion. Here we show that free SBM is weakly non-ergodic but does not exhibit a significant amplitude scatter of the time averaged mean squared displacement. More severely{,} we demonstrate that under confinement{,} the dynamics encoded by SBM is fundamentally different from both fractional Brownian motion and continuous time random walks. SBM is highly non-stationary and cannot provide a physical description for particles in a thermalised stationary system. Our findings have direct impact on the modelling of single particle tracking experiments{,} in particular{,} under confinement inside cellular compartments or when optical tweezers tracking methods are used.}, language = {en} } @misc{HodgkinsRichardsonDommainetal.2018, author = {Hodgkins, Suzanne B. and Richardson, Curtis J. and Dommain, Ren{\´e} and Wang, Hongjun and Glaser, Paul H. and Verbeke, Brittany and Winkler, B. Rose and Cobb, Alexander R. and Rich, Virginia I. and Missilmani, Malak and Flanagan, Neal and Ho, Mengchi and Hoyt, Alison M. and Harvey, Charles F. and Vining, S. Rose and Hough, Moira A. and Moore, Tim R. and Richard, Pierre J. H. and De La Cruz, Florentino B. and Toufaily, Joumana and Hamdan, Rasha and Cooper, William T. and Chanton, Jeffrey P.}, title = {Tropical peatland carbon storage linked to global latitudinal trends in peat recalcitrance}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1125}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-45965}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-459658}, pages = {15}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Peatlands represent large terrestrial carbon banks. Given that most peat accumulates in boreal regions, where low temperatures and water saturation preserve organic matter, the existence of peat in (sub)tropical regions remains enigmatic. Here we examined peat and plant chemistry across a latitudinal transect from the Arctic to the tropics. Near-surface low-latitude peat has lower carbohydrate and greater aromatic content than near-surface high-latitude peat, creating a reduced oxidation state and resulting recalcitrance. This recalcitrance allows peat to persist in the (sub)tropics despite warm temperatures. Because we observed similar declines in carbohydrate content with depth in high-latitude peat, our data explain recent field-scale deep peat warming experiments in which catotelm (deeper) peat remained stable despite temperature increases up to 9 degrees C. We suggest that high-latitude deep peat reservoirs may be stabilized in the face of climate change by their ultimately lower carbohydrate and higher aromatic composition, similar to tropical peats.}, language = {en} } @misc{FondellEckertJayetal.2017, author = {Fondell, Mattis and Eckert, Sebastian and Jay, Raphael Martin and Weniger, Christian and Quevedo, Wilson and Niskanen, Johannes and Kennedy, Brian and Sorgenfrei, Nomi and Schick, Daniel and Giangrisostomi, Erika and Ovsyannikov, Ruslan and Adamczyk, Katrin and Huse, Nils and Wernet, Philippe and Mitzner, Rolf and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander}, title = {Time-resolved soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy in transmission mode on liquids at MHz repetition rates}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {780}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-43752}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-437529}, pages = {12}, year = {2017}, abstract = {We present a setup combining a liquid flatjet sample delivery and a MHz laser system for time-resolved soft X-ray absorption measurements of liquid samples at the high brilliance undulator beamline UE52-SGM at Bessy II yielding unprecedented statistics in this spectral range. We demonstrate that the efficient detection of transient absorption changes in transmission mode enables the identification of photoexcited species in dilute samples. With iron(II)-trisbipyridine in aqueous solution as a benchmark system, we present absorption measurements at various edges in the soft X-ray regime. In combination with the wavelength tunability of the laser system, the set-up opens up opportunities to study the photochemistry of many systems at low concentrations, relevant to materials sciences, chemistry, and biology.}, language = {en} } @misc{EppKruseKathetal.2018, author = {Epp, Laura Saskia and Kruse, Stefan and Kath, Nadja J. and Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen Rosemarie and Tiedemann, Ralph and Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna and Herzschuh, Ulrike}, title = {Temporal and spatial patterns of mitochondrial haplotype and species distributions in Siberian larches inferred from ancient environmental DNA and modeling}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1052}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-46835}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-468352}, pages = {11}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Changes in species' distributions are classically projected based on their climate envelopes. For Siberian forests, which have a tremendous significance for vegetation-climate feedbacks, this implies future shifts of each of the forest-forming larch (Larix) species to the north-east. However, in addition to abiotic factors, reliable projections must assess the role of historical biogeography and biotic interactions. Here, we use sedimentary ancient DNA and individual-based modelling to investigate the distribution of larch species and mitochondrial haplotypes through space and time across the treeline ecotone on the southern Taymyr peninsula, which at the same time presents a boundary area of two larch species. We find spatial and temporal patterns, which suggest that forest density is the most influential driver determining the precise distribution of species and mitochondrial haplotypes. This suggests a strong influence of competition on the species' range shifts. These findings imply possible climate change outcomes that are directly opposed to projections based purely on climate envelopes. Investigations of such fine-scale processes of biodiversity change through time are possible using paleoenvironmental DNA, which is available much more readily than visible fossils and can provide information at a level of resolution that is not reached in classical palaeoecology.}, language = {en} } @misc{EhlertHolzweberLippitzetal.2016, author = {Ehlert, Christopher and Holzweber, Markus and Lippitz, Andreas and Unger, Wolfgang E. S. and Saalfrank, Peter}, title = {A detailed assignment of NEXAFS resonances of imidazolium based ionic liquids}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-394417}, pages = {8654 -- 8661}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In Near Edge X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy X-Ray photons are used to excite tightly bound core electrons to low-lying unoccupied orbitals of the system. This technique offers insight into the electronic structure of the system as well as useful structural information. In this work, we apply NEXAFS to two kinds of imidazolium based ionic liquids ([CnC1im]+[NTf2]- and [C4C1im]+[I]-). A combination of measurements and quantum chemical calculations of C K and N K NEXAFS resonances is presented. The simulations, based on the transition potential density functional theory method (TP-DFT), reproduce all characteristic features observed by the experiment. Furthermore, a detailed assignment of resonance features to excitation centers (carbon or nitrogen atoms) leads to a consistent interpretation of the spectra.}, language = {en} } @misc{BanerjeeLipowskySanter2020, author = {Banerjee, Pallavi and Lipowsky, Reinhard and Santer, Mark}, title = {Coarse-grained molecular model for the Glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor with and without protein}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {6}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-52374}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-523742}, pages = {17}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors are a unique class of complex glycolipids that anchor a great variety of proteins to the extracellular leaflet of plasma membranes of eukaryotic cells. These anchors can exist either with or without an attached protein called GPI-anchored protein (GPI-AP) both in vitro and in vivo. Although GPIs are known to participate in a broad range of cellular functions, it is to a large extent unknown how these are related to GPI structure and composition. Their conformational flexibility and microheterogeneity make it difficult to study them experimentally. Simplified atomistic models are amenable to all-atom computer simulations in small lipid bilayer patches but not suitable for studying their partitioning and trafficking in complex and heterogeneous membranes. Here, we present a coarse-grained model of the GPI anchor constructed with a modified version of the MARTINI force field that is suited for modeling carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids in an aqueous environment using MARTINI's polarizable water. The nonbonded interactions for sugars were reparametrized by calculating their partitioning free energies between polar and apolar phases. In addition, sugar-sugar interactions were optimized by adjusting the second virial coefficients of osmotic pressures for solutions of glucose, sucrose, and trehalose to match with experimental data. With respect to the conformational dynamics of GPI-anchored green fluorescent protein, the accessible time scales are now at least an order of magnitude larger than for the all-atom system. This is particularly important for fine-tuning the mutual interactions of lipids, carbohydrates, and amino acids when comparing to experimental results. We discuss the prospective use of the coarse-grained GPI model for studying protein-sorting and trafficking in membrane models.}, language = {en} } @misc{AlonsoStangeBeta2018, author = {Alonso, Sergio and Stange, Maike and Beta, Carsten}, title = {Modeling random crawling, membrane deformation and intracellular polarity of motile amoeboid cells}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1014}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-45974}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-459745}, pages = {24}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Amoeboid movement is one of the most widespread forms of cell motility that plays a key role in numerous biological contexts. While many aspects of this process are well investigated, the large cell-to-cell variability in the motile characteristics of an otherwise uniform population remains an open question that was largely ignored by previous models. In this article, we present a mathematical model of amoeboid motility that combines noisy bistable kinetics with a dynamic phase field for the cell shape. To capture cell-to-cell variability, we introduce a single parameter for tuning the balance between polarity formation and intracellular noise. We compare numerical simulations of our model to experiments with the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. Despite the simple structure of our model, we found close agreement with the experimental results for the center-of-mass motion as well as for the evolution of the cell shape and the overall intracellular patterns. We thus conjecture that the building blocks of our model capture essential features of amoeboid motility and may serve as a starting point for more detailed descriptions of cell motion in chemical gradients and confined environments.}, language = {en} }