Stochastic effects in molecular motor teams under detachment and
reattachment
February 7, 2024
3:00 pm PGH 646 (in person)
Abstract
Molecular motors are proteins in biological cells which perform
various sorts of biophysical work. The microscale physics of their
operation motivates inherently stochastic models, both for their
binding kinetics as well as for their spatial motion. The molecular
motor kinesin, on which we will focus, carries a load on its tail
while its head walks along microtubule filaments. We revisit two
paradigms of cooperative action by kinesin molecular motors. First, we
extend consideration of gliding assays to a situation where
microtubules are crosslinked while being crowdsurfed by immobilized
kinesin. Second, for two dissimilar types of kinesin transporting a
common cargo, we provide approximate analytical characterizations for
how incorporating slack in the tether model affects the cooperative
dynamics.
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