How bio-filaments twist membranes
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Updated: Mar 19, 2026

Reconstitution of Septin Assembly at Membranes to Study Biophysical Properties and Functions
Published on: July 28, 2022
Julien Fierling1, Albert Johner1, Igor M Kulić1
1Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS-UdS, 23 rue du Loess, BP 84047, 67034 Strasbourg cedex 2, France. julien.fierling@ics-cnrs.unistra.fr.
Abstract:
We study the deformations of a fluid membrane imposed by adhering stiff bio-filaments due to the torques they apply. In the limit of small deformations, we derive a general expression for the energy and the deformation field of the membrane. This expression is specialised to different important cases including closed and helical bio-filaments. In particular, we analyse interface-mediated interactions and membrane wrapping when the filaments apply a local torque distribution on a tubular membrane.
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