Issue 10, 2009
From the journal:

Soft Matter

Molecular dynamics simulation of F-actin reveals the role of cross-linkers in semi-flexible filament assembly

Lam T. Nguyen,a   Wei Yang,b   Qi Wangc  and  Linda S. Hirst*d  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Physics & MARTECH, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

b Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

c Department of Mathematics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

d School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
E-mail: lhirst@ucmerced.edu

Abstract

Hierarchically ordered protein networks are formed in solution by the self-assembly of F-actin, a semi-flexible biopolymer, in the presence of cross-linkers. We model the assembly of a 3D branching network of filament bundles using a coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation, finding excellent agreement with experimental observations. We examine the role of cross-linker density on network morphology and filament curvature and observe a clear evolution from a loose single filament network to a network of bundles generated by cross-linker-induced branch points.

Graphical abstract: Molecular dynamics simulation of F-actin reveals the role of cross-linkers in semi-flexible filament assembly

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B817927A
Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Oct 2008
Accepted
07 Jan 2009
First published
26 Mar 2009

Soft Matter, 2009,5, 2033-2036

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Molecular dynamics simulation of F-actin reveals the role of cross-linkers in semi-flexible filament assembly

L. T. Nguyen, W. Yang, Q. Wang and L. S. Hirst, Soft Matter, 2009, 5, 2033 DOI: 10.1039/B817927A

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