Close, but not too close: a mesoscopic description of (a)symmetry and membrane shaping mechanisms Downloaded

Biomembranes are fundamental to our understanding of the cell, the basic building block of all life. An intriguing aspect of membranes is their ability to assume a variety of shapes, which is crucial for cell function. Here, we review various membrane shaping mechanisms with special focus on the current understanding of how local curvature and local rigidity induced by membrane proteins leads to emerging forces and consequently large-scale membrane deformations. We also argue that describing the interaction of rigid proteins with membranes purely in terms of local membrane curvature is incomplete and that changes in the membrane rigidity moduli must also be considered.

Automated summary

Biomembranes are crucial for our understanding of the basic building blocks of life – cells. A key characteristic of membranes is their ability to adopt various shapes that are essential for cellular function. In this article, we review different mechanisms by which membranes can change shape, with a special focus on how membrane proteins induce local curvature and rigidity, resulting in emerging forces and large-scale membrane deformations. We also argue that considering changes in membrane rigidity moduli is necessary to fully understand the interaction between rigid proteins and biomembranes.