Motor Proteins and Molecular Motors: How to Operate Machines at the Nanoscale

Overview

Journal J Phys Condens Matter

Specialties Biophysics
Biotechnology

Date 2013 Oct 9

PMID 24100357

Citations 35

Authors

Anatoly B Kolomeisky

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Several classes of biological molecules that transform chemical energy into mechanical work are known as motor proteins or molecular motors. These nanometer-sized machines operate in noisy stochastic isothermal environments, strongly supporting fundamental cellular processes such as the transfer of genetic information, transport, organization and functioning. In the past two decades motor proteins have become a subject of intense research efforts, aimed at uncovering the fundamental principles and mechanisms of molecular motor dynamics. In this review, we critically discuss recent progress in experimental and theoretical studies on motor proteins. Our focus is on analyzing fundamental concepts and ideas that have been utilized to explain the non-equilibrium nature and mechanisms of molecular motors.

Citing Articles

Microscopic origin of the spatial and temporal precision in biological systems.

Mondal A, Kolomeisky A Biophys Rep (N Y). 2025; 5(1):100197.

PMID: 39884433 PMC: 11867269. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpr.2025.100197.

Artificial molecular motors in biological applications.

Fan F, Liu S, Yan Y, Zhang P, Che K Front Mol Biosci. 2025; 11():1510619.

PMID: 39845902 PMC: 11750787. DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2024.1510619.

CARD14 signalosome formation is associated with its endosomal relocation and mTORC1-induced keratinocyte proliferation.

OSullivan P, Aidarova A, Afonina I, Manils J, Thurston T, Instrell R Biochem J. 2024; 481(18):1143-1171.

PMID: 39145956 PMC: 11555713. DOI: 10.1042/BCJ20240058.

Motorized chain models of the ideal chromosome.

Cao Z, Wolynes P Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024; 121(28):e2407077121.

PMID: 38954553 PMC: 11252987. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2407077121.

Myosin-Catalyzed ATP Hydrolysis in the Presence of Disease-Causing Mutations: Mavacamten as a Way to Repair Mechanism.

Chakraborti A, Tardiff J, Schwartz S J Phys Chem B. 2024; 128(19):4716-4727.

PMID: 38708944 PMC: 11103257. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c01601.

References

Rai A, Rai A, Ramaiya A, Jha R, Mallik R . Molecular adaptations allow dynein to generate large collective forces inside cells. Cell. 2013; 152(1-2):172-82. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.11.044. View

Clancy B, Behnke-Parks W, Andreasson J, Rosenfeld S, Block S . A universal pathway for kinesin stepping. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2011; 18(9):1020-7. PMC: 3167932. DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2104. View

Lang M, Asbury C, Shaevitz J, Block S . An automated two-dimensional optical force clamp for single molecule studies. Biophys J. 2002; 83(1):491-501. PMC: 1302163. DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3495(02)75185-0. View

Brady S . A novel brain ATPase with properties expected for the fast axonal transport motor. Nature. 1985; 317(6032):73-5. DOI: 10.1038/317073a0. View

Chu P, Wang L, Khatua S, Kolomeisky A, Link S, Tour J . Synthesis and single-molecule imaging of highly mobile adamantane-wheeled nanocars. ACS Nano. 2012; 7(1):35-41. DOI: 10.1021/nn304584a. View

Taylor A, Smith G . RecBCD enzyme is a DNA helicase with fast and slow motors of opposite polarity. Nature. 2003; 423(6942):889-93. DOI: 10.1038/nature01674. View

Van den Broeck C, Kumar N, Lindenberg K . Efficiency of isothermal molecular machines at maximum power. Phys Rev Lett. 2012; 108(21):210602. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.210602. View

Asbury C, Fehr A, Block S . Kinesin moves by an asymmetric hand-over-hand mechanism. Science. 2003; 302(5653):2130-4. PMC: 1523256. DOI: 10.1126/science.1092985. View

Uppulury K, Efremov A, Driver J, Jamison D, Diehl M, Kolomeisky A . Analysis of Cooperative Behavior in Multiple Kinesins Motor Protein Transport by Varying Structural and Chemical Properties. Cell Mol Bioeng. 2014; 6(1):38-47. PMC: 3904397. DOI: 10.1007/s12195-012-0260-9. View

10.

BOYER P . The ATP synthase--a splendid molecular machine. Annu Rev Biochem. 1997; 66:717-49. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.biochem.66.1.717. View

11.

Snyder G, Sakamoto T, Hammer 3rd J, Sellers J, Selvin P . Nanometer localization of single green fluorescent proteins: evidence that myosin V walks hand-over-hand via telemark configuration. Biophys J. 2004; 87(3):1776-83. PMC: 1304582. DOI: 10.1529/biophysj.103.036897. View

12.

Xing J, Liao J, Oster G . Making ATP. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005; 102(46):16539-46. PMC: 1283826. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0507207102. View

13.

Kolomeisky A, Stukalin E, Popov A . Understanding mechanochemical coupling in kinesins using first-passage-time processes. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2005; 71(3 Pt 1):031902. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.71.031902. View

14.

Kolomeisky A . Michaelis-Menten relations for complex enzymatic networks. J Chem Phys. 2011; 134(15):155101. PMC: 3094465. DOI: 10.1063/1.3580564. View

15.

Charvin G, Bensimon D, Croquette V . Single-molecule study of DNA unlinking by eukaryotic and prokaryotic type-II topoisomerases. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003; 100(17):9820-5. PMC: 187850. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1631550100. View

16.

Mortensen K, Churchman L, Spudich J, Flyvbjerg H . Optimized localization analysis for single-molecule tracking and super-resolution microscopy. Nat Methods. 2010; 7(5):377-81. PMC: 3127582. DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1447. View

17.

Seifert U . Efficiency of autonomous soft nanomachines at maximum power. Phys Rev Lett. 2011; 106(2):020601. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.020601. View

18.

Driver J, Jamison D, Uppulury K, Rogers A, Kolomeisky A, Diehl M . Productive cooperation among processive motors depends inversely on their mechanochemical efficiency. Biophys J. 2011; 101(2):386-95. PMC: 3136769. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2011.05.067. View

19.

Mavroidis C, Dubey A, Yarmush M . Molecular machines. Annu Rev Biomed Eng. 2004; 6:363-95. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.bioeng.6.040803.140143. View

20.

Block S, Asbury C, Shaevitz J, Lang M . Probing the kinesin reaction cycle with a 2D optical force clamp. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003; 100(5):2351-6. PMC: 151344. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0436709100. View