A minimal self-organisation model of the Golgi apparatus

Abstract

The design principles dictating the spatio-temporal organisation of eukaryotic cells, and in particular the mechanisms controlling the self-organisation and dynamics of membrane-bound organelles such as the Golgi apparatus, remain elusive. Although this organelle was discovered 120 years ago, such basic questions as whether vesicular transport through the Golgi occurs in an anterograde (from entry to exit) or retrograde fashion are still strongly debated. Here, we address these issues by studying a quantitative model of organelle dynamics that includes: de-novo compartment generation, inter-compartment vesicular exchange, and biochemical conversion of membrane components. We show that anterograde or retrograde vesicular transports are asymptotic behaviors of a much richer dynamical system. Indeed, the structure and composition of cellular compartments and the directionality of vesicular exchange are intimately linked. They are emergent properties that can be tuned by varying the relative rates of vesicle budding, fusion and biochemical conversion.

Supply chain logistics – the role of the Golgi complex in extracellular matrix production and maintenance

“…The control and coordination of matrix assembly remains poorly understood. Mathematical modelling of Golgi organisation and glycosylation ( Fisher et al, 2019 ; Jaiman and Thattai, 2020 ; Vagne et al, 2020 ) presents key opportunities to understand the relative importance of different Golgi components in the process. It is also worth considering that self-correction mechanisms may exist at the Golgi, allowing for conservation of matrix homeostasis.…”

Rerouting trafficking circuits through posttranslational SNARE modifications

“…Indeed, it is already known that altered trafficking pathways can regulate numerous cellular behaviours, including cell migration and stem cell differentiation (Derivery et al, 2015;Wilson et al, 2018). Such modelling approaches have been proven extremely successful for understanding both membrane traffic (Bezeljak et al, 2020;Vagne et al, 2020) and cellular signalling (Byrne et al, 2016;Hetmanski et al, 2016;Samaga et al, 2009), and thus may also be highly valuable for understanding SNARE PTMs.…”

From cartoons to quantitative models in Golgi transport

“…It is clear that our approach is not the first mathematical model implemented to represent the Golgi structure and the transport of cargoes (Vagne and Sens, 2018a; Vagne and Sens, 2018b; Dmitrieff et al., 2013; Binder et al., 2009; Ispolatov and Musch, 2013; Mukherji and O'Shea, 2014; Sachdeva et al., 2016; Gong et al., 2010). Several research groups have published different models addressing organelle self‐organisation and protein and lipid sorting in the Golgi (Kuhnle et al., 2010; Sens and Rao, 2013; Vagne et al., 2020). Fusion, fission, and maturation are at the core of most of these models.…”