Harold P. Erickson
Cell Biology Dept.
Duke University Medical Center, Box 3709
412 Nanaline Duke Bldg
Research Dr.
Durham, NC 27710
TEL 919-684-6385
FAX 919 684-8090
Email: H.Erickson@cellbio.duke.edu
Please contact me if you find any problem with this page
Publications
and some e-prints (pdf)
Several items of interest are posted here, many unpublished.
Cytoskeleton - tubulin and FtsZ
- FtsZ
movie. This movie, by David E. Anderson, shows
FtsZ rings in E. coli over a 10 min period. One cell (upper
middle) is seen to divide and new rings assemble almost immediately in
the daughter cells. Note that the Z rings frequently open out to
show their helical substructure. Quicktime
format; Avi format;
- FtsZ rings reconstituted in liposomes. This breakthrough (Osawa, Anderson and Erickson, Science 320:792, 2008) demonstrates that FtsZ can assemble Z rings, and they generate a constriction force, without any other proteins. See the movies: Osawa
S1; Osawa S2
- fts
genes in sequenced bacterial genomes. Revised July,
2000. An updated version of Table
1 from our
1997 Trends in Cell Biology article - tracks the occurance of ftsZ
and a dozen other fts genes in 27
genomes.ftsZ
is present in all bacteria and archea
(with
several remarkable exceptions, see next), while other fts genes
are missing from some or most.
- The crenarchaea Aeropyrum pernix, and
Sulfolobus sulfataricus are free living extremophiles, and they have no
FtsZ. The phyla Chlamydia and Planctomycetes, and the species
Ureaplasma
urealyticum, a mycoplasma capable of growing in defined medium, also
have no FtsZ. These suggest the existence of a completely novel
mechanism for bacterial division.
- Structure based alignment of FtsZ and
alpha/beta/gamma tubulin, and BtubA/B - Updated Jan, 2007. This new alignment of FtsZ and tubulins is published
in my review in BioEssays, 2007, but here I have added BtubA/B.
Click here for a
PDF version. (Contact me if you would like a file in Megalign
or GCG pileup format.)
- Microtubule models (3-D depiction of subunit lattice of microtubules and
rings).
- FtsZ
sequence alignment, 66 sequences,
Updated Jan. 2007. This alignment is a pdf, contact me if you would
like a file in DNAstar Megalign or GCG pileup format. see Vaughan
et al J Mol Evol 58:19-39. Additional information,
including all sequences, are available at the Addinall web site.
- SS
Extracellular matrix
- Alignment of tenascin sequences.
- Tenascin and fibronectin expression proteins. The production of
a
dozen bacterial expression proteins for defined segments of tenascin
and
fibronectin was described by Aukhil et al., J. Biol. Chem.
268:2542-2553
(1993). Since then we have modified several protocols for purification.
You can download Tenascin
Expression Proteins Protocol.
-
- Fibronectin - a model showing the
modular structure in scale with an integrin, collagen, membrane and
actin. (Click here to download FN+integrin
as a PICT file (.hqx).
- Ohashi, T., D.P. Kiehart, and H.P. Erickson. 1999. Dynamics and
elasticity of the fibronectin matrix in living cell culture visualized
by green fluorescent
protein. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:2153-2158. E-print pdf. See also the commentary by Hynes
See the MOVIE of
FN matrix fibrils - A conditional
knockout of pFN, and study of its effect on skin wound healing and on
brain infarcts following transient ischemic injury. Sakai et al.
(2001). Pdf of the article, and pdf of a commentary by Mosher.
60 minute Rasmol
This two page Rasmol
tutorial introduces this powerful program for viewing molecules.
The
tutorial uses the structure ofFN7-10, the cell adhesion domain
of
fibronectin, as an example. Instructions are provided to get the Rasmol
program, get the PDB file for FN7-10, display and rotate the molecule,
identify and color specific aa's, etc.
The reference for the structure of FN7-10 is
- 2.0 Å crystal structure of a
four-domain segment of human fibronectin encompassing the RGD loop and
synergy region. Leahy, D.J., I. Aukhil, and H.P. Erickson. Cell
84:155-164. 1996.
Protein structure - some useful numbers and
calculations (updated Jan 2003)
- How big is a protein molecule?
- Is the protein globular or elongated? The
frictional ratio.
- Determining the molecular weight of a
protein molecule.
- Protein standards for gel filtration and
sedimentation.
Prot.Structure/Hydrodynamics These notes have now been updated and published, see next
Size and Shape of Protein Molecules at the Nanometer Level Determined by Sedimentation, Gel Filtration, and Electron Microscopy, Erickson HP, 2009. Biological Procedures Online 2009 PDFProtein hydrodn EM
Protein-protein association. Lecture notes
Nov. 2004
Topics covered include general principles of
protein-protein recognition and binding, cooperative association,
kinetics. References are given to classic and modern papers.
Download the file in PDF
PMCID tutorial. March 2009. This explains how to enter PMCID numbers in PubMed Central to comply with the new requirements for listing references for NIH grants. Explains what you do and don't have to do. I have an EndNote Style that will print the PMCID, but I haven't figured how to post it here. Contact me by email if you want it. h.erickson@cellbio.duke.edu
Useful links
Some photosof
fish and animals
Faculty
Research Directory - a searchable database of Research throughout
Duke University Medical Center
Cell
Biology Home Page
