Pattern formation within escherichia coli: Diffusion, membrane attachment, and self-interaction of MinD molecules

A model for the polar localization of MinD, based only on diffusion, a delay for nucleotide exchange, and different rates of attachment to the bare membrane and the occupied membrane was presented. It was shown that accurate cell divisions in E.Coli depended on the oscillation of Min proteins from pole to pole. The probability density and the corresponding length scale were derived analytically for the MinD attachment zones. The processes giving rise to the observed localization of cellular min d zones were also illustrated using the simple analytical model.