Are you doing cell #biology? Then, let me guess, you likely stained #actin! Our @jcb.org article reveals the structure of the popular actin probe F-tractin in complex with F-actin and introduces an optimized version for better imaging! A thread! 👀👇 rupress.org/jcb/article/... - ThreadSky

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alexanderbelyy.bsky.social • 20 days ago

Are you doing cell #biology? Then, let me guess, you likely stained #actin!

Our @jcb.org article reveals the structure of the popular actin probe F-tractin in complex with F-actin and introduces an optimized version for better imaging! A thread! 👀👇

https://rupress.org/jcb/article/224/4/e202409192/277261/Structure-of-the-F-tractin-F-actin-complexF

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alexanderbelyy.bsky.social•20 days ago

F-tractin is a small peptide derived from the rat ITPKA protein that binds F-actin. It’s a go-to tool for actin #cytoskeleton visualization in live cells. But… how does it work at the molecular level? 🤔🔍

alexanderbelyy.bsky.social•20 days ago

Using cryo-EM 🔬, we determined the structure of the F-tractin–F-actin complex at high resolution. We found its specific binding site, which explained its actin-binding properties!

Check out these structural insights! 📸

alexanderbelyy.bsky.social•20 days ago

Unexpectedly, this binding site is nearly identical to the one of #Lifeact - the most popular probe for visualization of actin in living cells!

alexanderbelyy.bsky.social•20 days ago

These structural results and the biochemical data show that the previously reported differences between these peptides originate from the flexible areas of F-tractin or from differential expression levels, rather than from fundamentally different modes of interaction with F-actin.

alexanderbelyy.bsky.social•20 days ago

Finally, based on the structural data, we designed an optimized version of F-tractin. The result? Great labeling and minimal disturbance to actin dynamics! 🚀

alexanderbelyy.bsky.social•20 days ago

Many thanks to @dshatskiy.bsky.social, Athul Sivan, and Roland Wedlich-Söldner for the excellent work!

#Actin #Ftractin #Cytoskeleton #Microscopy #StructuralBiology #CryoEM #Science

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