Long-Range Organization of Membrane-Curving Proteins

Biological membranes have a central role in mediating the organization of membrane-curving proteins, a dynamic process that has proven to be challenging to probe experimentally. Using atomic force microscopy, we capture the hierarchically organized assemblies of Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) proteins on supported lipid membranes. Their structure reveals distinct long linear aggregates of proteins, regularly spaced by up to 300 nm. Employing accurate free-energy calculations from large-scale coarse-grained computer simulations, we found that the membrane mediates the interaction among protein filaments as a combination of short- and long-ranged interactions. The long-ranged component acts at strikingly long distances, giving rise to a variety of micron-sized ordered patterns. This mechanism may contribute to the long-ranged spatiotemporal control of membrane remodeling by proteins in the cell.