dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaCooperative Cargo Transport by Several Molecular Motors
| Authors | Stefan Klumpp, Reinhard Lipowsky |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0512011 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0512011 |
| DOI | 10.1073/pnas.0507363102 |
| Journal | PNAS 102, 17284-17289 (2005) |
Abstract
The transport of cargo particles which are pulled by several molecular motors in a cooperative manner is studied theoretically. The transport properties depend primarily on the maximal number, $N$, of motor molecules that may pull simultaneously on the cargo particle. Since each motor must unbind from the filament after a finite number of steps but can also rebind to it again, the actual number of pulling motors is not constant but varies with time between zero and $N$. An increase in the maximal number $N$ leads to a strong increase of the average walking distance (or run length) of the cargo particle. If the cargo is pulled by up to $N$ kinesin motors, e.g., the walking distance is estimated to be $5^{N-1}/N$ micrometers which implies that seven or eight kinesin molecules are sufficient to attain an average walking distance in the centimeter range. If the cargo particle is pulled against an external load force, this force is shared between the motors which provides a nontrivial motor-motor coupling and a generic mechanism for nonlinear force-velocity relationships. With increasing load force, the probability distribution of the instantenous velocity is shifted towards smaller values, becomes broader, and develops several peaks. Our theory is consistent with available experimental data and makes quantitative predictions that are accessible to systematic in vitro experiments.
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"abstract": "The transport of cargo particles which are pulled by several molecular motors\nin a cooperative manner is studied theoretically. The transport properties\ndepend primarily on the maximal number, $N$, of motor molecules that may pull\nsimultaneously on the cargo particle. Since each motor must unbind from the\nfilament after a finite number of steps but can also rebind to it again, the\nactual number of pulling motors is not constant but varies with time between\nzero and $N$. An increase in the maximal number $N$ leads to a strong increase\nof the average walking distance (or run length) of the cargo particle. If the\ncargo is pulled by up to $N$ kinesin motors, e.g., the walking distance is\nestimated to be $5^{N-1}/N$ micrometers which implies that seven or eight\nkinesin molecules are sufficient to attain an average walking distance in the\ncentimeter range. If the cargo particle is pulled against an external load\nforce, this force is shared between the motors which provides a nontrivial\nmotor-motor coupling and a generic mechanism for nonlinear force-velocity\nrelationships. With increasing load force, the probability distribution of the\ninstantenous velocity is shifted towards smaller values, becomes broader, and\ndevelops several peaks. Our theory is consistent with available experimental\ndata and makes quantitative predictions that are accessible to systematic in\nvitro experiments.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0512011",
"authors": [
"Stefan Klumpp",
"Reinhard Lipowsky"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.SC",
"cond-mat.stat-mech",
"physics.bio-ph",
"q-bio.BM"
],
"doi": "10.1073/pnas.0507363102",
"journal_ref": "PNAS 102, 17284-17289 (2005)",
"title": "Cooperative Cargo Transport by Several Molecular Motors",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0512011"
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