Insight into the chemomechanical coupling mechanism of kinesin molecular motors
Ping Xie
Abstract
Abstract Kinesin is a two-headed biological molecular motor that can walk processively on microtubule via consumption of ATP molecules. The central issue for the molecular motor is how the chemical energy released from ATP hydrolysis is converted to the kinetic energy of the mechanical motion, namely the mechanism of chemomechanical coupling. To address the issue, diverse experimental methods have been employed and a lot of models have been proposed. This review focuses on the proposed models as well as the qualitative and quantitative comparisons between the results derived from the models and those from the structural, biochemical and single-molecule experimental studies.
Topics & Concepts
KinesinMolecular motorATP hydrolysisCoupling (piping)Mechanism (biology)Motor proteinMicrotubuleChemical energyMoleculeMolecular dynamicsBiological systemComputer scienceBiophysicsPhysicsChemical physicsNanotechnologyChemistryMaterials scienceComputational chemistryBiologyQuantum mechanicsThermodynamicsNuclear magnetic resonanceMetallurgyCell biologyATPaseEnzymeMicrotubule and mitosis dynamicsATP Synthase and ATPases ResearchCellular Mechanics and Interactions