Actins are a highly conserved family of proteins found in virtually all eukaryotic cells. They have prolific roles in cell motility - from the contraction of striated muscle to the movement of organelles within cells, and are known to interact with a diverse number of proteins families from myosins to gelsolins. This up-to-date edition gives a comprehensive account of actin sequence, mutation and structure as well as providing insight into ligand-binding sites and drug and toxin binding. Illustrated throughout, this modern text also contains an extensive bibliography for the interested reader.

Introduction Biological characteristics of actin Functional properties of actin Actin structure The actin sequence Molecular genetic manipulation of actin Actin structure Covalent derivation sites Post-translational sites Post-translational modificaiton sites Proteolytic cleavage sites Ligand-binding sites Cation-binding sites Nucleotide-binding sites Self-association sites Actin-binding-protein sites Drug and toxin binding Acknowledgements Bibliography Protein Sequence Alignments

Peter Sheterline , Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Liverpool, Jon Clayton , EMBL, John C. Sparrow , Department of Biology, University of York