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Historically, actin research at different levels of biological organization has developed into separate fields such as in vitro actin biochemistry, biophysics and cell biology. Biochemists, cell biologists and physicists working in these different areas typically publish in different journals and attend different conferences. However, we see a trend, enabled by new technologies, towards bridging these fields, offering for the first time the opportunity for multi-scale understanding of actin biology. This would allow us to directly explain how biochemistry and biophysics of single actin filaments and single molecules of motor proteins or cross-linkers give rise to cell and tissue scale functions.
The meeting will specifically focus on new technologies that enable integration of actin biology at different scales, such as advanced imaging in in vitro and in vivo systems, and those combining molecular biology with computational and biophysical approaches. The goal is to create for the first time the opportunity for a multi-scale understanding of actin biology, integrating actin biochemistry, physics and cell biology from the level of a single actin filament to cell and tissue scales.


Topics

Molecular mechanisms of actin filament nucleation
In vitro reconstituted systems
Actin and cell motility
The actin cortex
Actin in cell division
Actin’s functions in cell and tissue mechanics
The role of actin in nuclear structure and function
Evolution of the actin cytoskeleton