Journal
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Volume 337, Issue 2, Pages 255-261Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2004.01.028
Keywords
actin bundle; bending stiffness; single pole magnetic trap; tapering rod
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Funding
- NIGMS NIH HHS [GM52703] Funding Source: Medline
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The acrosomal process of the sperm of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyplienius) is a unique crystalline actin bundle, consisting of multiple actin filaments cross-linked by the actin-bundling protein, scruin. For successful fertilization, the acrosomal bundle must penetrate through a 30 mum thick jelly coat surrounding the egg and thus it must be sufficiently stiff. Here, we present two measurements of the bending stiffness of a single crystalline bundle of actin. Results from these measurements indicate that the actin:scruin composite bundle has an average elastic modulus of 2 GPa, which is similar to that of a single actin filament, and a bending stiffness that is more than two orders of magnitude larger than that of a bundle of uncross-linked actin filaments due to stiffening by the scruin matrix. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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