The WAVE complex forms linear arrays at negative membrane curvature to instruct lamellipodia formation.

Cells generate a wide range of actin-based membrane protrusions for various cell behaviors. These protrusions are organized by different actin nucleation promoting factors. For example, N-WASP controls finger-like filopodia, whereas the WAVE complex controls sheet-like lamellipodia. These different membrane morphologies likely reflect different patterns of nucleator self-organization. N-WASP phase separation has been successfully studied through biochemical reconstitutions, but how the WAVE complex self-organizes to instruct lamellipodia is unknown. Because WAVE complex self-organization has proven refractory to cell-free studies, we leverage biochemical approaches to investigate WAVE complex organization within its native cellular context. With single molecule tracking and molecular counting, we show that the WAVE complex forms highly regular multi-layered linear arrays at the plasma membrane that are reminiscent of a microtubule-like organization. Similar to the organization of microtubule protofilaments in a curved array, membrane curvature is both necessary and sufficient for formation of these WAVE complex linear arrays, though actin polymerization is not. This dependency on negative membrane curvature could explain both the templating of lamellipodia and their emergent behaviors, including barrier avoidance. Our data uncover the key biophysical properties of mesoscale WAVE complex patterning and highlight an integral relationship between NPF self-organization and cell morphogenesis.