ELASTICITY OF KINESIN UNDER ROTARY AND LINEAR FORCES

要了解任何马达的工作原理，需要指定马达的机械部件，并确定这些部件在力产生过程中如何移动和相互作用。马达蛋白的内部工作原理尚不清楚，它为肌肉收缩提供动力，推动游泳的精子，并沿着细胞内的轨道携带细胞器。这项提议旨在揭示马达蛋白激动素的机械弹性成分。其具体目的是：测量(1)扭转、(2)纵向和(3)拉伸作用力下的动蛋白弹性，定位相应的分子柔顺元件，并评估这些外力对动蛋白作用力产生的影响。光钳和校准的力纤维将被用来测量单分子的力和位移，以表征电机的弹性性能。将利用重组蛋白表达技术来鉴定弹性成分。在该建议中获得的信息可用于开发动蛋白机器的操作模型。

Understanding how any motor works requires specifying the motor's mechanical components and determining how these components move and interact during the force-generating process. The internal workings of motor proteins, which power muscle contraction, propel swimming sperm, and carry organelles along tracks in cells, are not understood. This proposal intends to reveal the mechanical elastic components of the motor protein kinesin. The specific aims are: to measure the elasticity of kinesin under (1) torsional, (2) longitudinal, and (3) extensional forces, to locate the corresponding molecular compliant elements, and to evaluate the impact of these external forces on kinesin force generation. Optical tweezers and calibrated force fibers will be used to measure force and displacement of single-molecules for the characterization of motor elastic properties. Recombinant protein expression techniques will be utilized to identify the elastic components. The information obtained in this proposal can be used to develop a model for operation of the kinesin machine.