MUTUAL SYNCHRONIZATION OF MOLECULAR TURNOVER CYCLES IN ALLOSTERIC ENZYMES

The diffusive transport and mixing times of regulatory molecules in mi crometer and submicrometer_ reaction volumes can be shorter than chara cteristic times of conformational transformations in single enzyme mol ecules. Under these conditions, mutual synchronization of individual m olecular turnover cycles takes place when strong allosteric activation by the reaction products is present. Using simple automaton models to describe the cycles of single molecules, we analyze properties of the synchronization transition and the role of statistical fluctuations i n the synchronization phenomena.