molecular motors

Molecular motors are proteins or protein complexes that transform chemical energy – derived from ATP hydrolysis – into mechanical work. Molecular motor proteins are of interest both in molecular biology and nanotechnology.

Motors are classified as rotatory or translatory. Eukaryotic translatory proteins translocate materials along filaments (actin filaments, microtubules) and play a role in muscular contraction, cell division, and cellular material transport.

Rotatory:
● ATP synthase is the final enzyme of oxidative phosporylation, and the F1Fo ATP synthase is the commonest chemi-mechanical motor found in nature.
● topoisomerase operates to unwind DNA molecules – it severs one strand of the double helix, allowing it to relax, and then repairs the cleaved location.

Translatory:
● myosin, which moves along actin microfilaments,
● kinesin and dynein, which move along microtubules (tubulin filaments).

Џ Video explaining operation of the F1-F0 ATPase (Harvard U) Џ

[] ATP synthase [] kinesin []

. DNA packing in bacteriophage ø29 (phi-29) . Dynein . Kinesin . Myosin . molecular motors .