In addition to specialized actin structures such as lamellipodia and stress fibers, cells are thought to contain a contractile actomyosin matrix that maintains cell shape. Luo et al. describe the organization and dynamics of an actomyosin network that may fulfill this function. This network is formed by actin nodes that contain the formin DAAM1 and the crosslinker filamin A, and that are connected to each other by myosin II. This biosights episode presents the paper by Luo et al. from the September 30, 2013, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with corresponding author Alexander Bershadsky (Weizmann Institute, Israel, and Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.
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