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Myofilament, filaments of myofibrils constructed from proteins; Protein filament, a long chain of protein subunits, such as those found in hair or muscle; Part of a stamen, the male part of a flower; Hypha, a thread-like cell in fungi and Actinobacteria; Filamentation, an elongation of individual bacterial cells
In biology, a protein filament is a long chain of protein monomers, such as those found in hair, muscle, or in flagella. [1] Protein filaments form together to make the cytoskeleton of the cell. They are often bundled together to provide support, strength, and rigidity to the cell.
In molecular biology, an axoneme, also called an axial filament, is the microtubule-based cytoskeletal structure that forms the core of a cilium or flagellum. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Cilia and flagella are found on many cells , organisms , and microorganisms , to provide motility.
Thin filaments, are 7 nm in diameter, and consist primarily of the protein actin, specifically filamentous F-actin. Each F-actin strand is composed of a string of subunits called globular G-actin . Each G-actin has an active site that can bind to the head of a myosin molecule.
By definition, the cytoskeleton is composed of proteins that can form longitudinal arrays (fibres) in all organisms. These filament forming proteins have been classified into 4 classes. Tubulin-like, actin-like, Walker A cytoskeletal ATPases (WACA-proteins), and intermediate filaments. [8] [28]
The filaments move bidirectionally, i.e. both towards the axon tip (anterograde) and towards the cell body (retrograde), but the net direction is anterograde. The filaments move at velocities of up to 8 μm/s on short time scales (seconds or minutes), with average velocities of approximately 1 μm/s. [ 14 ]
In the absence of antibiotics or other stressors, filamentation occurs at a low frequency in bacterial populations (4–8% short filaments and 0–5% long filaments in 1- to 8-hour cultures). [3] The increased cell length can protect bacteria from protozoan predation and neutrophil phagocytosis by making ingestion of cells more difficult.
Filament cross-linkers (e.g., α-actinin, fascin, and fimbrin) Actin monomer-binding proteins profilin and thymosin β4; Filament barbed-end cappers such as Capping Protein and CapG, etc. Filament-severing proteins like gelsolin. Actin depolymerizing proteins such as ADF/cofilin. The actin filament network in non-muscle cells is highly dynamic.