"Regulation of molecular motor-based transport by their biopolymer tracks"

 

 

 

Molecular motors are a key building block of biological machines, discovered only in recent decades. We now know that the function of molecular motors underlie the fundamental framework for life, and breakdown of molecular motor function leads to a variety defects in biological machines (including human diseases such as neurodegeneration, cancer). However, we still lack nuanced understanding on the proper controls for these nano-mahcines, cannot yet reverse their dysfunction in diseases, and cannot effectively build machines as well as nature does. Molecular motors function by mechanically step along their biopolymer tracks. How the structural detail of these biopolymer tracks might impact molecular motor function has long remained a open question. Here we used a modified optical-trapping method to investigate the transport of molecular motors along individual biopolymer tracks. We found that structural defects in the biopolymer tracks have the potential to alter molecular motor-based transport, either by prompting dissociation of the cargo or triggering pauses during otherwise continuous transport. Our study provides the first direct link between the function of molecular motors and the structure of their biopolymer structure tracks. Implications include new mechanisms for regulating molecular motor-based transport in cells, and potential of using molecular motors as non-invasive biomarkers for structural investigations of their biopolymer tracks.