Abstract
Membrane deformation is a necessary step in a number of cellular processes such as endocytosis, cell division, filopodia formation and has been shown to involve membrane shaping proteins containing BAR (Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs) domains. In reconstituted membranes the membrane shaping BAR domains can efficiently deform negatively charged membranes into tubules without any other proteins present. We show how the inverse BAR domain from the filopodia associated ABBA protein dynamically transforms Giant Unilamellar lipid Vesicles (GUVs) into membrane tubes. We characterize their physical properties like persistence length and size and compare the stiffness with protein free tubes of similar diameter. Tube formation can be dynamically reversed by varying the local protein concentration or the membrane tension by using micropipette aspiration or osmotic pressure. At constant protein concentration tubes are found to disappear when membrane tension is increased by aspiration of the GUVs and subsequently reappear when aspiration is reversed.
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