orji`s presentation actin filament
TRANSCRIPT
Actin filaments are thin and flexible
7 nm in diameterLess rigid than
microtubulesPlus end - fast
growingMinus end - slow
growingMonomers
polymerize into a helical chain
Actin and microtubules polymerize using similar mechanisms
Monomeric actin binds to ATP
Upon polymerization, actin ATPase activity cleaves ATP to ADP
ATP hydrolysis acts as a molecular “clock”
Older actin filaments with ADP are unstable and disassemble
Myosins are actin-based motor proteins
Myosins convert ATP hydrolysis into movement along actin filaments
Many different classes of myosins (>30 in humans)
Some myosins move cargoes, other myosins slide actin (as in muscles)
Actin & ATP binding sites in N-terminal head domain