Journal
NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Volume 19, Issue 2, Pages 193-200Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2205
Keywords
-
Funding
- American Heart Association
- Rita Allen Foundation
- Harvard Armenise Foundation
- US National Institutes of Health [1 DP2 OD004268-01]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Processivity, the ability of single molecules to move continuously along a track, is a fundamental requirement of cargo-transporting molecular motors. Here, we investigate how cytoplasmic dynein, a homodimeric, microtubule-based motor, achieves processive motion. To do this, we developed a versatile method for assembling Saccharomyces cerevisiae dynein heterodimers, using complementary DNA oligonucleotides covalently linked to dynein monomers labeled with different organic fluorophores. Using two-color, single-molecule microscopy and high-precision, two-dimensional tracking, we find that dynein has a highly variable stepping pattern that is distinct from all other processive cytoskeletal motors, which use 'hand-over-hand' mechanisms. Uniquely, dynein stepping is stochastic when its two motor domains are close together. However, coordination emerges as the distance between motor domains increases, implying that a tension-based mechanism governs these steps. This plasticity may allow tuning of dynein for it diverse cellular functions.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available