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Abstract

Life implies motion. In cells, protein-based active molecular machines
drive cell locomotion and intracellular transport, control cell shape,
segregate genetic material, and split a cell in two parts. Key players
among molecular machines driving these various cell functions are the
cytoskeleton and motor proteins that convert chemical bound energy into
mechanical work. Findings over the last decades in the field of in vitro
reconstitutions of cytoskeletal and motor proteins have elucidated
mechanistic details of these active protein systems. For example, a
complex spatial and temporal interplay between the cytoskeleton and
motor proteins is responsible for the translation of chemically bound
energy into (directed) movement and force generation, which eventually
governs the emergence of complex cellular functions. Understanding these
mechanisms and the design principles of the cytoskeleton and motor
proteins builds the basis for mimicking fundamental life processes.
Here, a brief overview of actin, prokaryotic actin analogs, and motor
proteins and their potential role in the design of a minimal cell from
the bottom-up is provided.