Entropy decrease associated to solute compartmentalization in the cell.

We have deduced equations to quantify the entropy associated to the compartmentalization of components in eukaryotic cells as a function of cell and compartment volumes, and of the concentration of solutes. On the basis of known and plausible values of volume and solute concentrations and the deduced equations, we estimate that the contribution of compartmentalization to the decrease of entropy is approximately -14.4 x 10(-14)JK(-1)cell(-1) (-0.7 J K(-1)L(-1)) in the case of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a typical eukaryotic cell, and approximately -49.6 x 10(-14)JK(-1)cell(-1) (-1.0 J K(-1)L(-1)) in the more complex Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. When compared with other potential contributing factors, such as the informational entropy of DNA and the conformational entropy of proteins, compartmentalization appears as an essential development that significantly decreased the entropy of living cells during biological evolution.