Midterm Flashcards
Isotopes
- Basis of why mass #s are rarely whole
- Many elements have different isotopes, which have varying #s of neutrons
- Isotopes w/more neutrons are often unstable (radioactive)
Electronegativity
- Measure of how strongly electrons are attracted to nucleus
- Elements w/more protons are more electronegative so polar bonds are particularly strong in molecules such as OH and CO
Hydrogen Bond
- Biggest consequence of polar covalent bonds
- Electrostatic attraction between partial positive + negative charges of 2 water molecules
Cohesion
- Explains phenomenons such as water rising in trees
- Explains how water moderates temperature because hydrogen bond formation or disruption buffers heat energy
Does water facilitate chemical reactions well?
- Yes, since it’s a very good solvent
- All polar molecules + ions dissolve easily in water (known as hydrophilic); non-polar molecules don’t dissolve in water + are hydrophobic
Hydrophobic Interactions
- Describe non-polar molecules being forced together, as being together minimizes disruption of hydrogen bonding in surrounding water
Van Der Waals Force
- Describes attraction of non-polar molecules to each other b/c of transient dipoles, caused by random localization of electrons in different areas of their orbitals
- Occurs between all molecules but is only relevant for non-polar molecules
How strong are ionic bonds that are relevant in biological settings such as proteins?
- Not strong: they’re actually relatively weak
- However, ionic bonds in salt crystals are much stronger: strength is similar to or higher than that of covalent bond
Which acids are most important in biology?
- Weak acids like the carboxyl group. They dissociate partially + reversibly
- Oxygen is more electronegative, so it grabs electron pairs and releases H+
Titration Curve
- Measure the pH after adding increasing amounts of NaOH, equivalent to removing protons from the sol’n
- While pH is expected to rise quickly and dramatically, this isn’t the case. pH rises slowly b/c there is large reservoir of undissociated acetic acid which keeps releasing protons
- Adding acid at pH = 6 reverses this process and slowly lowers pH since added protons would reform undissociated acetic acid and are thereby removed
Why is acetic acid called the conjugate base?
- B/c it can accept protons
- Weak acids act as buffers, since over a certain range the pH doesn’t change much even if you add a lot of base
- To make a buffer of sol’ns in both directions, must add equal amounts of weak acid and conjugate base to reach half-equivalence point of titration curve
Why are buffers important in bio?
- B/c it’s important for the f(x) of many molecules that pH is constant, which is why our blood + intracellular fluid is buffered
Can you read protonation state off of titration curve?
- Yes
- Ex/ at pH = 7, the COOH group discussed is largely COO-
2 important chemical rxns in metabolism
- Condensation + hydrolysis
Condensation
- Formation of a polymer linked by covalent bonds, releasing 1 water molecule w/each monomer added
- This is anabolic: requires E input
- Ex/ DNA replication, protein synthesis, starch formation
Hydrolysis
- Breaking of covalent bonds w/help of water to transform a polymer into its constituent monomers
- This is catabolic: releases E
- Ex/ digestion of food molecules for E generation
Does breaking a covalent bond require or release E? What about for forming a covalent bond?
- Breaking a single covalent bond requires E, forming releases
- Though we refer to ATP hydrolysis as releasing E, we mean the entire chemical rxn, involving at least 2 covalent bonds being broken + 2 covalent bonds being formed
General Functions of Proteins
- Do all work in a cell: build structures like hair, replicate DNA, catalyze metabolic rxns, transport materials inside cells + across the membrane, etc
What are proteins made of?
- Amino acids, which are ionized at neutral pH
How are the 20 amino acids classified?
- According to the properties of their side chains: non-polar + hydrophobic amino acids, polar amino acids + charged amino acids
Peptide Bond Formation
- Condensation rxn
- Occurs between carboxyl group of 1 amino acid + the amino group of the next amino acid, generating a peptide backbone consisting of NCCNCC… repetitions
- Amino acid always starts w/amino group (N-terminus) + ends w/carboxyl group (C-terminus)
Primary Structure
- # of amino acids used + sequence in which they’re arranged
- Determines all properties of resulting protein
What does the flexibility of the polypeptide backbone ( due to its consistence of single covalent bonds) give rise to?
- Rotation about the single bond (full rotation for the C-C bond, less so for N-C bond)
- This allows polypeptides to fold into proteins, occurring in 2 steps: 1) H bonds form w/in polypeptide backbone between O of carboxyl group + H of amino group. 2) This gives rise to 2 secondary structures that form quickly after polypeptide is made: alpha-helix + beta-pleated sheet. These H bonds don’t involve side chains at all
Alpha-Helix
- H bonds form in direction of helix, generating stable rod-like structure
- Side chains point outwards, away from helix
Beta-Pleated Sheet
- H bonds form w/in plane of sheet, generating stable sheet
- Side chains point away from plane, up or down
Are there obvious rules of when you’ll find alpha helices and beta sheets within a protein?
- No
- Protein structure determination is the only way to confirm presence/absence of secondary structures w/in a protein
Proline
- A unique amino acid: side chain is covalently bonded to both C and N atom of peptide backbone
- Generates a kink in peptide b/c ring prevents free rotation of N-C bond
- Backbone H can’t form b/c backbone N lacks H, so formation of secondary structures (alpha helix, beta pleated sheet) is impossible
- Often last amino acid of alpha helix
General Function of Tertiary Structures and What Mediates It
- Finishes folding of polypeptide
- Mediated by side chain interactions
Which interactions contribute to tertiary structure formation?
- Ionic, H and disulphide bonds, along w/hydrophobic interactions
- All of these are typically between amino acid side chains in interior of protein
What happens to the disulphide bonds and proteins of keratin when curling your hair?
- Disulfide bonds reduced/broken
- They’re then reformed to keep hair in new shape
- In keratin protein, coiled coils form through hydrophobic interaction + you see disulfide bonds between alpha-helices to provide additional strength
What is the most important determinant of protein folding and tertiary structure?
- Hydrophobic interactions b/c stretches of hydrophobic amino acids automatically rearrange towards interior of a protein while hydrophilic amino acids rearrange to be on outside, interacting w/water
Coiled Coil
- Important for many structural proteins
- 2 alpha-helices wrapped around each other
- Hydrophobic amino acids at every 4th position generates band of hydrophobicity running along length of the alpha-helix + slowly rotating around it. This interaction ensures that 2 such alpha-helices come together at that band, resulting in coiled coil (like a rope consisting of intertwined strands)
- Occurs in proteins, giving strength to tendons, hair, feathers
- Can be a tertiary structure if both alpha-helices are from same polypeptide
- If 2 alpha-helices from dif polypeptides, this is quaternary structure
Do primary, secondary and tertiary structures require or release E?
- Primary (peptide bond formation) requires, secondary/tertiary folding releases (occurs spontaneously)
Quaternary Structure
- Indicates several polypeptides interacting to form bigger protein complex such as hemoglobin
- Many don’t form quaternary structure: they’re fully folded after tertiary structure formation
Importance of Amino Acid Sequence (Primary Structure) For Folding and Function
- A single amino acid mutation in hemoglobin protein changes the shape, resulting in sickle shape of RBCs since they contain only hemoglobin
- A typical protein sufficiently diluted in watery sol’n denatures at high temp (unfolds), but will renature (refold) when temp is lowered. This is evidence that primary structure is sufficient for protein folding: all info about protein folding + f(x) is encoded by primary structure
Protein Turnover
- Very important b/c proteins often get damaged: fever, pH change, other chemical damages
- Chaperones help proteins fold properly after synthesis or after stress-related unfolding
Nucleotide General Function and Structure
- Make RNA + DNA, signal + E storage as monomers
- Made of 5-C sugar, nitrogenous base + phosphate group
What are the four nucleotides in RNA? What is the difference in DNA?
- Cytosine + uracil (pyrimidines) and guanine + adenine (purines)
- Thymine replaces uracil in DNA. DNA lacks hydroxyl group at C-2 (deoxyribose)
How do nucleotides polymerize?
- Via phosphodiester linkages (condensation rxn), w/3’ hydroxyl group of polymer forming a covalent bond w/5’ phosphate group of incoming nucleotide
- So, a long RNA/DNA molecule always starts w/5’ phosphate group, ends w/3’ hydroxyl - polymerization occurs in 5’ to 3’ direction
What does 5’ and 3’ refer to?
- The position of the C atom where the functional group is attached
What is DNA made up of?
- 2 antiparallel strands held together by H bonds between bases
- Purine bases only pair w/pyrimidine bases (G w/C, A w/T). G-C forms 3 H bonds, so more stable than A-T which only forms 2
- Double helix w/sugar-phosphate backbone on outside + bases on inside, arranged like ladder rungs
- Double-helix results from 2 strands being wound around each other. Has major + minor groove
- Overall DNA sequence of genome carries genetic info
- Base pairing + double helical structures make DNA more stable than RNA
Major Groove of DNA
- 2 sugar-phosphate backbones more widely spaced, allowing DNA-binding proteins to recognize bases in the interior
- Very important for transcription factors + restriction enzymes, which recognize a unique DNA sequence
RNA General Function and Structural Information
- Since it can execute info, came first in evolution
- Can work like enzyme: catalyzes certain rxns b/c it can fold into complicated 3D structures similar to proteins. Folding occurs b/c nucleotide bases w/in same macromolecule pair via H bonds (in contrast to DNA, where nucleotide bases of dif macromolecules pair)
- Stem-loop structure: important RNA structure - contributes to regulation of mRNA f(x)
What comprises all chemical reactions in a cell?
- Metabolism
Definition of Energy
- Potential capacity to do work
What drives energy conversions in a chemical reaction?
- The tendency of E to become evenly distributed or dispersed over time
- Overall disorder in universe increases as E is dispersed
- The fact that these types of rxns (like tea cooling down) only proceed in 1 direction is described by 2nd law of thermodynamics, based on probability
How can a cell release free energy or drive a chemical reaction?
1) W/chem rxn creating disorder in the cell (like digesting a polymer). Creates change in entropy in a closed system, delta S. This doesn’t refer to overall change of entropy in entire universe
2) W/chem rxn releasing heat (enthalpy = delta H), generating disorder/dispersing E in surrounding environment. Entropy outside closed system increases
What is the equation for free energy?
- delta G = delta H - T delta S
What does it mean if delta G is negative?
- E is released/dispersed, rxn proceeds spontaneously b/c it’s favourable
How many types of reactions can occur?
- 4: depending on whether delta H and T delta S are positive or negative
Negative Delta H and Positive T Delta S
- Heat is released, disorder increased
- Always spontaneous (exergonic) since delta G is always negative
Negative Delta H and Negative T Delta S
- Heat is released, disorder decreased
- Ex/ in protein folding, heat is released since favourable ionic bonds + other side-chain interactions occur. But disorder decreases b/c we get nicely folded protein. Since S depends on temp, this process occurs only below a certain temp. Above certain temp, T delta S becomes bigger than delta H + overall delta G is positive, so no protein folding above act 50 degrees
Positive Delta H and Positive T Delta S
- Heat used, disorder increases
- Spontaneous above certain temp
- Ex/ dissolving NaCl in water. Heat sucked away from environment, which is why glass gets colder. Heat required to break strong crystal bonds; creation of disorder drives the rxn
Positive Delta H and Negative T Delta S
- Heat used, disorder decreases
- Never spontaneous (endergonic)
- Applies to most anabolic rxns
- So anabolic rxns only occur by coupling them to exergonic rxns to make overall delta G negative
Reversibility of Reactions
- In theory, all rxns reversible
- If left alone, will proceed to pt of chem equilibrium: no more net change takes place
- At equilibrium, relative [ ]s of A + B are such that fwd + reverse rxns occur at same rate and delta G = 0
Is delta G dynamic?
- Yes, it changes as rxn proceeds
- Explains why adding reactants to a rxn speeds up fwd rxn: it increases [ ]s of reactants, making delta G more negative. This is another ex that negative delta G is essential for a rxn to occur
How is energy stored and transferred in cells?
- By ATP
- ATP hydrolysis is an exergonic rxn + can be used to drive endergonic rxns such as making a polymer
Why is ATP useful as energy currency?
- B/c its delta G is intermediate between what you gain in respiration + what you expend in anabolism
- Comparison: like how $20 bill is most useful b/c it’s intermediate between what you earn + what you want to buy. However, we don’t get any “change” in a chem rxn. Leftover of coupled rxn is negative delta G that must be dispersed to drive this rxn
What do exergonic rxns require to get started?
- Activation E to put molecules into a transition state favourable to the rxn
How can polymerization require E input, while ATP hydrolysis releases E?
- B/c in biology, we refer to entire chem rxn of polymerization or ATP hydrolysis
- Looking carefully at these rxns, both involve simultaneous breaking of covalent bonds + formation of new covalent bonds. Added enthalpies of broken + formed covalent bonds as well as delta S determine overall delta G, which is negative for ATP hydrolysis + positive for polymerization rxns
Catalysts
- Increase rate of spontaneous rxns (negative delta G)
- Don’t change delta G values
- Not used up by catalysis
Enzymes
- The catalysts of biology
- Lower activation E
- Crucial in our bodies b/c at 37 degrees, most spontaneous rxns don’t occur since activation E barrier can’t be overcome
- When reactants (substrate) bind to active site of enzyme forming an enzyme-substrate complex, enzyme often undergoes small shape change, bringing substrate into transition state
Transition State
- Characterized by lower activation E, speeding up rxn
- As soon as products leave active site, enzyme reverts to original shape
- Induction of transition state occurs by binding substrates in correct orientation by exposing reactants to altered charge environments, promoting catalysis, or by inducing a strain on substrate that facilitates breaking of covalent bond
Why is a constant pH important for enzyme activity?
- W/dif pH, enzyme would be inactive since negative charge may no longer be there
- Many enzymes require cofactors to catalyze a rxn: these are small organic molecules or ions that aren’t amino acids + are associated more or less tightly w/enzyme
What occurs when the enzyme is saturated?
- All active sites are occupied
- Further increase in [substrate] won’t increase rate of product formation
- Max speed of rxn/turnover rate is reached, varies widely from enzyme to enzyme
How can enzymes be regulated?
1) Competitively w/regulator binding the active site
2) Allosterically w/regulator binding somewhere else on enzyme
Is competitive or allosteric inhibition more efficient?
- Allosteric b/c less inhibitor molecules are required
- This is b/c you need more competitor molecules than substrate molecules for effective competitive inhibition, but you only need more allosteric regulators than enzymes b/c nothing else binds at allosteric site
Functions of Sugar
- E storage, building block for nucleic acids, structural component
Disaccharide
- Table sugar: made of fructose + glucose
Typical Structure of Sugars
- A multiple of CH2O, like C3H6O3
- 2 functional groups: 1 carbonyl group + several hydroxyl groups
How are glucose and galactose related to each other?
- They’re optical isomers
- So they have dif structure
What happens to straight-chain glucose in a sol’n?
- It forms another covalent bond to become ring form of glucose
- Since this converts C-1 from symmetric to asymmetric C atom (as C-1 in ring form has 4 dif groups attached to it vs 3 in straight chain form), you get 2 glucose isomers (alpha + beta glucose)
How are sugar polymers (polysaccharides) formed?
- By covalent bonds called glycosidic linkages between C-1 of 1 sugar w/any OH-group of 2nd sugar
- Alpha 1,4 linkage gives rise to maltose + eventually starch
- Beta 1,4 linkage gives rise to cellobiose + eventually cellulose
What causes the spiral shape of starch?
- The fact that bulky CH2OH groups are on same side, thus bending the polymer
Why is cellobiose a symmetrical and straight molecule?
- B/c the 2nd glucose in cellobiose is flipped compared to starch
What do all lipids have in common?
- They’re insoluble in water
Structure of Fats and Oils
- Consist of 3 fatty acids + 1 glycerol connected by covalent bonds
- Fatty acids have 1 carboxyl group + long hydrocarbon chain. They’re amphiphilic (hydrophilic carboxyl group + hydrophobic hydrocarbon chain)
Why do fats and not starch provide long-term storage?
- B/c fats provide more E/weight than starch but take longer to mobilize
What kind of interactions do phospholipids have with water?
- Amphiphilic
- Hydrophilic head group + 2 hydrophobic fatty acid tails are attached to glycerol
- Allows them to self-assemble into lipid bilayers w/hydrophobic fatty acid tails pointing inward, away from, water
What do lipid bilayers do to avoid exposed edges?
- Assemble into a globular compartment
- Energetically most favourable since no more hydrophobic parts are exposed to water
Are lipid bilayers (cell membranes) fluid?
- Yes, very
- Phospholipids are in constant lateral motion
What happens when a fatty acid contains double bonds?
- They are unsaturated
- They cause kinks in fatty acid tails, so they cannot be packed as closely together as straight + saturated fatty acids
- This is why butter is solid at room temp (only straight-chain fatty acids) + oils are fluid (many unsaturated fatty acids)
Function of Unsaturated Fatty Acids in Lipid Bilayers
- Increase fluidity + permeability of membrane
- Ex/ fish + plants adjust amount of double bonds in phospholipids to keep membrane fluidity stable over wide range of temps
Why are membranes very fluid?
- To allow proteins inserted into the membrane (integral membrane or transmembrane) to interact w/each other
How are membrane proteins usually integrated into the membrane?
- Via 1 or multiple alpha-helices
- This works if all amino acids composing alpha-helix are hydrophobic b/c their side chains point outward + interact w/lipids, while H bonds required to stabilize alpha-helix are all along length of alpha-helix cylinder
- This insertion produces asymmetry since integral membrane proteins can only move laterally, not vertically
- So side of protein pointing outward never changes: protein just moves around w/in plane of membrane like a phospholipid
Freeze Fracture
- Splits membranes into 2 lipid leaflets b/c freezing tightly binds phospholipids to surrounding water molecules by H bonds, while 2 lipid leaflets are held together only by van Der Waals forces (in frozen state)
Main Function of Membranes
- Serve as barrier, selectively transport molecules cell needs/wants to get rid of
- Scientists can analyze them by preparing beaker of water separated into 2 compartments. Divider contains small hole covered w/artificial membrane. Solutes added on 1 side, after certain time you can measure [solute] on other side. Tells you that membranes are selectively permeable
- Gases + small polar molecules pass freely across membrane, large charged molecules can barely cross + ions can’t at all
What does membrane transport give rise to?
- Diffusion: the passive mixing of substances resulting in net transportation along [ ] gradient. Diffusion occurs as long as there’s a [ ] gradient
Brownian Motion
- Random walk of individual molecules b/c of thermal motions + collisions
- Distance traveled is proportional to sqrt(time), so you don’t get very far
What happens when small molecule is equally distributed on both sides of membrane?
- Still moves across membrane, but no more net movement so no more diffusion + delta G = 0
- Any [ ] gradient flattens over time until equilibrium is reached
Do high temperatures and small molecule size speed up diffusion?
- Yes
Osmosis
- Diffusion of water across selectively permeable membrane
Hypertonic Solution
- Net water flow out of cell to dilute more concentrated solution outside of cell
Hypotonic Solution
- New water flow into cells to dilute more concentrated fluid in cell as opposed to out of it
Isotonic Solution
- Same [solute] as inside cell, so no net water flow
Why do membranes need integral membrane proteins and what are the two types?
- To transport molecules (ions, polar molecules) across the membrane
- 2 ties are those that only facilitate diffusion (passive transport) + those that transport molecules against their [ ] gradient (active transport)
Passive Transport
- Involves either gated channel proteins or carrier proteins
- Gated channel proteins allow ions to flow along their electrochemical gradient when it’s open. They’re closed in default state - open upon changes in electricity or binding of regulators
- When sugar binds to either side of glucose carrier, shape change occurs, resulting in transport of sugar to other side. Sugars can be transported in both directions. Carrier proteins can be saturated since they must bind to their substrate, so at a certain point diffusion rate can’t increase anymore
- Both display saturation kinetics: there’s [ ] at which maximal transport is reached. Saturation occurs much earlier in carrier than in channel protein
Active Transport
- Requires E
- Primary active transport: relies on ATP hydrolysis to overcome + delta G of transporting against [ ] gradient
- Secondary active transport: uses E from [ ] gradient set up by primary active transport
Most Important Example of Primary Active Transport
- Sodium potassium pump to counteract hypotonic drinking water
- Moves 3 sodium ions out + 2 potassium ions in, controlling osmolarity + generating resting potential + setting up ion gradients
Sugar Sodium Co-transporter
- Example of secondary active transport
- Uses E from sodium inflow to transport sugar into cells w/high interior [sugar]
- Ex/ cells lining gut take up nutrients from food. To max sugar uptake, they use a sodium sugar co-transporter to take up every sugar molecule from gut lumen. On other side, sugar crosses membrane into extracellular fluid w/sugar carrier since sugar molecules are constantly removed/shipped to rest of the body
Why do energy conversion process occur so quickly?
- B/c our cells are tiny, so the diffusion processes are required only over very short distances
Prokaryotes
- Can live in any environment
- Can oxidize anything
- Have greatest metabolic diversity of all organisms
- Much smaller than eukaryotes
- DNA sits in nucleoid, not surrounded by a membrane
Eukaryote
- Has nucleus surrounded by nuclear envelope consisting of 2 membranes
- Compartmentalization is key to eukaryote’s ability to have much larger cells
How are plant cells unique?
- They have a cell wall, chloroplasts + modified lysosome known as vacuole
- Due to cell wall, they don’t need sodium potassium pump
What is compartmentalization mediated by and what does it give rise to?
- Largely mediated by endomembrane system
- Gives rise to organelles: nucleus, ER, Golgi, vesicles + lysosomes. Membrane leaflet facing cytosolic side always faces cytosolic side in ER, Golgi, vesicles + cell membrane
Nucleus
- Surrounded by nuclear envelope made of 2 membranes
- Contains DNA stored as chromosomes + nucleolus, where ribosomes are made from rRNA + proteins (ribosomal proteins made in cytoplasm + brought back to nucleolus)
- Assembled ribosome subunits + mRNA transported through nuclear pores to cytoplasm
- Nuclear proteins like transcription factors brought into nucleus through nuclear pores
Rough ER
- Close to nucleus, its membranes are contiguous w/nuclear envelope
- Membrane proteins made here
- Rough b/c ribosomes attached to outside of ER membrane. Become attached when they start translating a membrane protein
- 1st few amino acids encode signal sequence that targets ribosome to rough ER, ensuring that freshly made membrane protein is immediately inserted into ER membrane during translation
- Secreted proteins released into ER lumen
Smooth ER
- Membrane lipids made here
- Detox occurs in smooth ER + usually means oxidation, like adding hydroxyl groups that make a molecule more hydrophilic so it can be excreted
Golgi
- Stack of membranes generated by vesicles coming from ER + fusing on cis face w/Golgi, other vesicles bud off trans face
- Proteins + lipids further modified here + proteins are sorted to reach their final destination
Pulse-Chase Experiments
- Demonstrated travelling of proteins through end-membrane system
- Adds radioactively labeled amino acids for short time to culture medium (pulse), then washes cells + adds unlabeled medium for various amounts of times (chase) before looking at cell by e- microscopy
- After labeling, radioactively labeled proteins show up in rough ER, later in Golgi, secretory vesicles + extracellular fluid
Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis
- Molecules to be transported are recognized by receptors which initiate endocytosis (budding off a vesicle into interior of cell)
- Vesicle (now called endosome) may fuse w/other vesicles carrying special digestive enzymes + proton pumps until endosome becomes lysosome w/low pH where contents digested into its monomeric components + released to cytosol
Autophagy
- Self-eating: lysosomal membranes can surround entire organelles + chunks of cytoskeleton like muscle fibres to digest them in case of need (damage or starvation)
Comparison of Mitochondria and Chloroplasts
- Endosymbiotic organelles
- Mitochondria: power plants of cells: most ATP produced here. Citric acid cycle occurs in matrix. Respiratory enzymes are integral membrane proteins located in invaginations of inner membrane. Invaginations (cristae) max area for inserting membrane proteins
- Chloroplasts: convert light E to chem E in photosynthesis. Carbon fixation occurs in stroma yielding sugars, amino acids + all fatty acids. Light rxns of photosynthesis occur in stacks of membranes (thylakoids) which have separated from inner membrane
- Both have outer + inner membranes. Space enclosed by inner membrane (matrix in mitochondria + stroma in chloroplasts) is where DNA, RNA + ribosomes are found
What are mitochondria and chloroplasts descendants of?
- Bacteria that were at one point taken up by ancestral eukaryotic cell through phagocytosis
- Evidence: double membrane, have their own genome w/genes more similar to bacterial genes, own ribosomes similar to bacterial ribosomes, unique system for proteins + lipid import which suggests that they evolved separately from endomembrane system
Cytoskeleton
- Contains structural elements important for cell shape + movement - most important are actin filaments + microtubules
- Both animal + plant cells have cytoskeleton
Actin Filaments
- Polar w/+ and - end
- Polymerize + depolymerize from monomers through non-covalent protein-protein interactions. Monomer fires to single actin protein - 1 polypeptide
- Many actin-binding proteins regulate actin stability + polymerization
- Found below cell membrane (cortically) + responsible for cell shape + its changes
- W/myosin, mediate muscle contraction, cell shape changes, cytoplasmic streaming + cytokinesis. Works b/c myosin II forms bipolar complexes w/myosin heads at opposite ends. Heads walk toward + end of actin filaments. Bipolar myosin II complex bound to antiparallel actin filaments leads to contraction of these filaments