Kinetic measurement of ribosome motor stalling force

We measure the ribosome motor stalling forces to unzip mRNA polymers during gene expression. An approach of using the changes in the reaction rate constants to determine the molecular motor forces is presented. Specific antisense DNA oligomers complementary to mRNA templates are used as kinetic barriers for estimating the ribosome forces using real time bioluminescence detection of luciferase gene expression. The rate constants are determined by comparing the experimental data with numerical simulation of gene expression to deduce the ribosome force (26.5+/-1 pN) required to unzip mRNA polymers. Understanding the forces generated by the ribosome may also enable the construction of information-based artificial nanoscale machines. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.