1 research outputs found
Vectorial Loading of Processive Motor Proteins: Implementing a Landscape Picture
Individual processive molecular motors, of which conventional kinesin is the
most studied quantitatively, move along polar molecular tracks and, by exerting
a force on a tether, drag cellular cargoes, {\em in
vivo}, or spherical beads, {\em in vitro}, taking up to hundreds of
nanometer-scale steps. From observations of velocities and the dispersion of
displacements with time, under measured forces and controlled fuel supply
(typically ATP), one may hope to obtain insight into the molecular motions
undergone in the individual steps. In the simplest situation, the load force
may be regarded as a scalar resisting force, , acting
parallel to the track: however, experiments, originally by Gittes {\em et al.}
(1996), have imposed perpendicular (or vertical) loads, , while more
recently Block and coworkers (2002, 2003) and Carter and Cross (2005) have
studied {\em assisting} (or reverse) loads, , and also sideways (or
transverse) loads