A research team led by Erwin Frey at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen is studying the interaction between molecular motors and the cell’s skeleton called the cytoskeleton.
The Cluster of Excellence ‘Nanosystems Initiative Munich’ and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft are funding the research work.
The cytoskeleton comprises several fiber-like parts known as microtubules. Molecular motors transfer macromolecules by moving across over these filaments. Moreover, these motors are required for cell signaling and regulation of microtubules’ length during cell division. Cells cannot perform cell division process properly in the absence of these motors. To understand the impact of the molecular motor, which is a cell molecule on the cellular behavior, the research team investigated the molecular motor function and its regulatory processes during cell division.
The team developed a theoretical model that accurately represents the ‘traffic jam’ phenomenon of molecular motors on the microtubule that varies the filament’s shortening behavior drastically. However, the concentration of the motor molecules in the surrounding solution called the cytosol is highly important. The traffic jam phenomenon occurs at the microtubule’s tip at a particular concentration of molecular motors. After the completion of the severing activity by the motor, it disperses into the cytosol with the microtubule-brick. However, a new supply is already available caused by the motor proteins’ traffic jam. Hence the microtubule shortening rate varies with the depolymerization rate of the microtubule by a single motor molecule.
If the concentration of motor proteins is low in the cytosol, then the shortening rate is controlled by the amount of motor molecules reaching the tip of the microtubule. Now, the depolymerization rate depends on the length of the microtubule. If the microtubule is longer, more number of motor proteins can be attached onto it. The theoretical model of the research team describes these fundamental functional properties of the cell system.
Source: http://www.en.uni-muenchen.de