Talin constructs were synthesized by PCR, using a mouse talin1 cDNA as a template, and cloned into pET-151/D-TOPO (Invitrogen). Constructs were expressed in Escherichia coli (DE3; BL21 Star; Thermo Fisher Scientific) cultured in lysogeny broth (LB). Recombinant His-tagged talin polypeptides were purified as described previously (Goult et al., 2009 (link)). Protein concentrations were determined using the respective extinction coefficients at 280 nm based on absorption coefficients calculated from the aromatic content according to ProtParam.