Actin crosslinking protein EF-1a of Dictyostelium discoideum has a unique bonding rule that allows square-packed bundles

Abstract

The elongation factor 1a (EF-1a) of Dictyostelium discoideum is an actin crosslinking protein that gives rise to a unique kind of actin bundle. Purified actin and EF-1a were allowed to form bundles and then were characterized by electron microscopy, computed diffraction analysis, and modeling. In these bundles crosslinked actin filaments are rotated by 90 degrees relative to each other, whereas other known crosslinking proteins require filaments to be unrotated. Bundles of actin EF-1a would tend to exclude other actin bundling proteins. EF-1a can thus regulate the state of the actin cytoskeleton as well as regulate protein synthesis.