Events in Physics
Roland Knorr (MPIKG), Intracellular capillary origami: membranes wrap around phase-separated droplets during autophagy
Compartmentalisation is essential for eukaryotic cell function, allowing the division of metabolic and regulatory processes into membrane-bound, specialised compartments, such as organelles. In recent years, intracellular phase separation has garnered much attention as a non-membrane means of organising components through the formation of droplet-like compartments, which are functionally implicated in both health and disease. Evidence suggests that droplet clearance involves autophagy, a highly-conserved degradation system in which membrane sheets expand and bend to isolate portions of the cell interior inside autophagosomes. Interestingly, the wrapping of elastic polymer sheets around water droplets or 鈥榗apillary origami鈥� resembles the bending of autophagic membrane sheets around droplets.
In my talk, I will summarise our recent report on phase separation, the droplet-membrane interaction and sequestration of droplets by autophagic membranes.