Friday 7th June at 1.30pm in P8445.2 Title: A parsimonious model for the dynamics of Min proteins. Lecturer: Dr. Christopher Angstmann. School of Mathematics, University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia. Abstract: Oscillations of the Min protein system are in part responsible for the correct placement of the FtsZ ring during cell division in E. coli. All existing models of this patterning in the Min proteins introduce non-observed effective interactions in order to produce the pattern. We show that this is unnecessary as the non-linearity induced by the dimerisation of MinD is sufficient to induce Turing patterns in the dynamics. This fits with the experimentally observed molecular interactions of the Min protein system. The model compares well to experimental data taken from E. coli. The model has been solved through the whole cell cycle starting from a small cell that grows and then divides. The model in the growing cell is also consistent with experiments from filamentous E. coli with the transition to higher order modes that lead to the formation of multiple FtsZ rings. The transition of the Min patterning to a higher mode during cell division is shown to give rise to two daughter cells with acceptable Min protein levels to maintain patterning without the need for regulation of protein synthesis and degradation. This work has been a collaboration with James Walsh and Paul Curmi from University of New South Wales.