Papers Published

1. M Osawa, HP Erickson, Chapter 1 - Tubular liposomes with variable permeability for reconstitution of FtsZ rings., Methods in enzymology, vol. 464 (2009), pp. 3-17 [doi] .
   (last updated on 2013/05/16)

   Abstract:
   We have developed a system for producing tubular multilamellar liposomes that incorporate the protein FtsZ on the inside. We start with a mixture of spherical multilamellar liposomes with FtsZ initially on the outside. Shearing forces generated by applying a coverslip most likely distort some of the spherical liposomes into a tubular shape, and causes some to leak and incorporate FtsZ inside. We describe protocols for liposome preparation, and for preparing membrane-targeted FtsZ that can assemble contractile Z rings inside the tubular liposomes. We also describe the characterization of the multilamellar liposomes in terms of the permeability or leakiness for a small fluorescent dye and larger protein molecules. These liposomes may be useful for reconstitution of other biological systems.

   Keywords:
   Bacterial Proteins • Cytoskeletal Proteins • Liposomes • Membrane Proteins • Molecular Biology • Permeability • chemistry • metabolism* • methods*