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| - Intriguing Self-Assembly of Large Granules of F-ActinFacilitated by Gelsolin and α-Actinin
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| - We report microscopic observations and a structural determination of actin granules self-assembled inconcentrated solutions of actin filaments (F-actin). Optical microscopy shows reproducible formation ofnumerous and stable granules of densely packed F-actin of variable sizes on the order of 10 μm. Thesegranules coexist with a uniform network of F-actin of a lower concentration. The microscopic segregationof F-actin into two distinct states is assisted by an actin cross-linking protein, α-actinin. The rapid on andoff rates and temperature sensitivity of the α-actinin/F-actin interaction facilitate the formation of multi-micrometer-sized granules of well-defined shapes. Additional physical factors such as the excluded volume effect and the minimization of surface energy act in concert with the specific molecular interactionsto define the intriguing granular formation. Both the biochemical specificity of α-actinin and thethermodynamics of phase transitions are required for understanding such large scale self-assembly.
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