Prof. Patricia Bassereau, Institut Curie Paris

The cortical actin cytoskeleton is a dynamic and polarized network that grows from the plasma membrane. It is dynamically coupled to the plasma membrane by different types of linkers: type 1 myosin motors, BAR-domains proteins with an intrinsically curved shape and ERM (Ezrin-Radixin-Moesin) proteins that play different roles at the membrane-cortex interface. I will present our in vitro biomimetic experiments showing that these protein not only bridge cortex and membranes but also directly influence both the cytoskeleton organization and the localization of cytoskeletal forces on the membrane, thus the cell membrane shape.