Formation of polyhedral vesicles and polygonal membrane tubes induced by banana-shaped proteins

TL;DR

This study uses meshless membrane simulations to explore how banana-shaped proteins induce shape changes in fluid membranes, leading to polyhedral vesicles and polygonal tubes with distinct geometric and energetic properties.

Contribution

It reveals how curved protein rods at different densities cause specific membrane shape transformations, including polyhedral vesicles and polygonal tubes, with analysis of shape transitions and energies.

Findings

High rod density stabilizes polyhedral shapes.

Shape transitions between triangular and buckled tubes are characterized.

Triangular and elliptic vesicles form as equilibrium shapes, while tetrahedral and triangular prisms are metastable.

Abstract

The shape transformations of fluid membranes induced by curved protein rods are studied using meshless membrane simulations. The rod assembly at low rod density induces a flat membrane tube and oblate vesicle. It is found that the polyhedral shapes are stabilized at high rod densities. The discrete shape transition between triangular and buckled discoidal tubes is obtained and their curvature energies are analyzed by a simple geometric model. For vesicles, triangular hosohedron and elliptic-disk shapes are formed in equilibrium, whereas tetrahedral and triangular prism shapes are obtained as metastable states.