Stable tug-of-war between kinesin-1 and cytoplasmic dynein upon different ATP and roadblock concentrations

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

The maintenance of intracellular processes, like organelle transport and cell division, depend on bidirectional movement along microtubules. These processes typically require kinesin and dynein motor proteins, which move with opposite directionality. Because both types of motors are often simultaneously bound to the cargo, regulatory mechanisms are required to ensure controlled directional transport. Recently, it has been shown that parameters like mechanical motor activation, ATP concentration and roadblocks on the microtubule surface differentially influence the activity of kinesin and dynein motors in distinct manners. However, how these parameters affect bidirectional transport systems has not been studied. Here, we investigate the regulatory influence of these three parameters using in vitro gliding motility assays and stochastic simulations. We find that the number of active kinesin and dynein motors determines the transport direction and velocity, but that variations in ATP concentration and roadblock density have no significant effect. Thus, factors influencing the force balance between opposite motors appear to be important, whereas the detailed stepping kinetics and bypassing capabilities of the motors only have a small effect.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numberjcs249938
JournalJournal of cell science
Volume133
Issue number22
Publication statusPublished - 30 Nov 2020
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85097037961
ORCID /0000-0002-0750-8515/work/142235526

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

Keywords

  • Adenosine Triphosphate, Cytoplasmic Dyneins, Dyneins/metabolism, Kinesins/genetics, Microtubules/metabolism

Library keywords