09-15-2014, 07:32 PM
A recent Cell paper revealed new insights into how actin nucleation occurs. The VopL effector protein binds three actin monomers at once and organizes them into a spatial arrangement close to that found in the canonical actin filament. Structural similarities with the more widely studied Arp2/3 complex and formin proteins suggest that this may be a general mechanism for actin nucleation.