ABSTRACT: Movement is a fundamental property of living organisms. The contraction of muscle, beating of cilia and flagella, segregation of genetic material during mitosis, and intracellular transport of membranes, proteins and mRNAs are driven by molecular motor proteins that move along cytoskeletal filaments. Our laboratory studies kinesin and dynein, the two types of motors that move along microtubule tracks. The mechanism of kinesin is reasonably well understood through measurements of its single molecule motility and the elucidation of its atomic structure. Dynein, a much larger motor that is evolutionarily unrelated to kinesin, is much less well understood. In this talk, I will discuss our recent efforts to understand how structural changes in the dynein motor produce motility and how the motility of dynein might be regulated.
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