Physical Mechanism of Energy Transduction in Biological Motors

王 蛋白质发动机在等温环境中工作时将化学能转化为机械功。 负责能量传递的分子机制仍然不清楚。 目前的实验技术允许测量单个蛋白质马达的力和运动，精确到微微牛顿和纳米。 本项目的主要工作是从单分子实验数据中揭示蛋白质马达的能量传递机制。 首先，开发了强大而有效的工具，用于从电机位置的测量时间序列中提取电机力曲线。电机力曲线将电机驱动力显示为电机位置的函数。 它包含了关于发动机机构的信息。 研究者还探讨了除此之外，还可以从实验数据中提取什么样的电动机力曲线。 所发展的理论和数值计算工具对于一般反应扩散过程的研究是有用的。 然后，研究者应用所开发的工具研究驱动蛋白和其他蛋白质马达的力生成机制，在整个模型建立过程中，为实验同行提出了新的实验建议，以解决尚未解决的问题。 蛋白质马达在细胞的许多功能中起着重要作用，如肌球蛋白驱动肌肉收缩，驱动蛋白驱动胞内小泡运输和有丝分裂中染色体的移动。 了解蛋白质运动的运作原理对于理解生物系统如何运作至关重要。 它对生物工程应用也很重要：人工合成蛋白质马达，将蛋白质马达整合到人工系统中，以及制造纳米级的人工马达。 本项目旨在从实验结果中揭示蛋白质马达的工作原理。 在实验室中，可以记录单个蛋白质马达的时间进程。 研究人员正在开发理论工具，从记录的时间过程中恢复动力剖面。 然后研究了力的产生机理。

Wang Protein motors convert chemical energy to mechanical workwhile operating in an isothermal environment. The molecularmechanism responsible for the energy transduction is still notclear. The current experimental technologies permit measuringforces and motions of a single protein motor to the precision ofpiconewtons and nanometers. The main focus of this project is touncover the energy transduction mechanism of protein motors fromsingle molecule experimental data. First, the investigatordevelops robust and effective tools for extracting the motorforce profile from the measured time series of motor position.The motor force profile shows the motor driving force as afunction of motor position. It contains information about themotor mechanism. The investigator also explores what else besidesthe motor force profile can be extracted from the experimentaldata. The theoretical and numerical tools developed are usefulfor the studies of reaction diffusion processes in general. Then,the investigator applies the tools developed to study the forcegeneration mechanism of kinesin and other protein motors.Throughout the model building, new experiments are suggested toexperimental colleagues to resolve the unsettled issues. Protein motors play a central role in many cell functions.For example, myosin drives muscle contraction; kinesin drivesintracellular vesicle transportation and moves chromosomes duringmitosis. Understanding the operating principles of protein motorsis crucial to comprehending how biological systems function. Itis also important to bioengineering applications: controllingprotein motors artificially, incorporating protein motors intoartificial systems, and manufacturing nano-scale artificialmotors. This project seeks to reveal the operating principles ofprotein motors from experimental results. In laboratories, thetime course of a single protein motor can be recorded. Theinvestigator eas develop theoretical tools to recover the motorforce profile from the recorded time courses. Then the forcegeneration mechanism is investigated.