Displacement-weighted velocity analysis of gliding assays reveals that Chlamydomonas axonemal dynein preferentially moves conspecific microtubules.

ABSTRACT: In vitro gliding assays, in which microtubules are observed to glide over surfaces coated with motor proteins, are important tools for studying the biophysics of motility. Gliding assays with axonemal dyneins have the unusual feature that the microtubules exhibit large variations in gliding speed despite measures taken to eliminate unsteadiness. Because axonemal dynein gliding assays are usually done using heterologous proteins, i.e., dynein and tubulin from different organisms, we asked whether the source of tubulin could underlie the unsteadiness. By comparing gliding assays with microtubules polymerized from Chlamydomonas axonemal tubulin with those from porcine brain tubulin, we found that the unsteadiness is present despite matching the source of tubulin to the source of dynein. We de

SUBMITTER: Alper JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3647177 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature