Evolution of mechanical cooperativity among myosin II motors.

ABSTRACT: Myosin II is a biomolecular machine that is responsible for muscle contraction. Myosin II motors act cooperatively: during muscle contraction, multiple motors bind to a single actin filament and pull it against an external load, like people pulling on a rope in a tug-of-war. We model the dynamics of actomyosin filaments in order to study the evolution of motor-motor cooperativity. We find that filament backsliding-the distance an actin slides backward when a motor at the end of its cycle releases-is central to the speed and efficiency of muscle contraction. Our model predicts that this backsliding has been reduced through evolutionary adaptations to the motor's binding propensity, the strength of the motor's power stroke, and the force dependence of the motor's release from actin. These pr

SUBMITTER: Wagoner JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8157946 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature