Publisher Correction: An actin-based viscoplastic lock ensures progressive body-axis elongation

Transcription elongation is a dynamic process that alters depending upon the sequence heterogeneity of the DNA being transcribed. Hence, it is not surprising that the elongation complex's composition also varies along the way while transcribing a gene.
The transcription elongation is regulated via pausing of RNA polymerase on several occasions during transcription. In bacteria, these halts are necessary because the transcription of DNA into mRNA is coupled to the translation of that mRNA...

This protocol describes how to produce actin comets on the surfaces of beads using commercially available protein ingredients. Such systems mimic the protrusive structures found in cells, and can be used to examine physiological mechanisms of force production in a simplified...

The response to stress—be it physical or psychological, acute or chronic—involves activation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. The HPA axis is part of the neuroendocrine system because it involves both neuronal and hormonal communication. Its function is to regulate homeostatic systems—metabolic, cardiovascular, and immune—providing the necessary means to respond to a stressor.

Microscopic imaging of live endothelial cells expressing GFP-actin allows characterization of dynamic changes in cytoskeletal structures. Unlike techniques that use fixed specimens, this method provides a detailed assessment of temporal changes in the actin cytoskeleton in the same cells before, during, and after various physical, pharmacological, or inflammatory...

Filamentous actin (F-actin) plays an important role in spinogenesis, synaptic plasticity, and synaptic stability. Quantification of F-actin puncta is therefore a useful tool to study the integrity of synaptic structures. This protocol describes the procedures of quantifying F-actin puncta labeled with Phalloidin in low-density primary cortical neuronal...