title: Actin polymerization: forcing flat faces forward.
abstract: Actin polymerization has been shown to be sufficient to propel curved objects, for example beads and vesicles coated with the Listeria monocytogenes protein ActA. Recent studies suggest that actin polymerization on flat surfaces can also provide the propulsive force to push them forward.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Arpita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Upadhyaya
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Oudenaarden
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001704:Biopolymers / Q000378:metabolism*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008863:Microspheres; D008954:Models, Biological
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001704:Biopolymers; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C072980:actA protein, Listeria monocytogenes