Motors meet their cargo : establishing cellular functions of myosin VI through biochemical analysis of novel binding partners
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Molecular motors are proteins that use energy from ATP hydrolysis to walk along cytoskeletal tracks, often transporting cargo as they move. A substantial amount of work has been done to study their catalytic domains, obtaining in vitro biochemical, structural, and biophysical measurements of motors' stepping behavior. Compared to this wealth of data, much less is known about how they actually work in cells. Regions of the motor proteins called cargo-binding domains are responsible for mediating their interactions with other molecules, but we know relatively little about what specific cargoes they associate with, the biochemical basis of these interactions, how they are regulated, and thus the precise functions of the motors in vivo. We have focused on two unconventional myosin motors in Drosophila, V and VI, both of which play important roles in fly development, and whose cargo-binding domains have been relatively unexplored. We use a proteomics approach to identify multiple novel binding partners for both myosins. The identities and biochemical characterization of a small fraction of the candidate binding proteins have begun to shed light on pathways in which the motors are likely to be involved. We have focused on roles for myosin VI in protein secretion and intracellular trafficking, and it seems likely that myosin V will play distinct roles in trafficking of ribonucleoprotein complexes. The discovery of binding partners is an important step towards understanding what motors do in cells, and we expect that this method will be useful for other motors in the future. We also hope that these findings will continue to elucidate biological roles of myosin V and VI.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2011 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Finan, Dina |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Biochemistry |
| Primary advisor | Spudich, James A |
| Thesis advisor | Spudich, James A |
| Thesis advisor | Pfeffer, Suzanne |
| Thesis advisor | Straight, Aaron, 1966- |
| Advisor | Pfeffer, Suzanne |
| Advisor | Straight, Aaron, 1966- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Dina Finan. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Biochemistry. |
| Thesis | Ph.D. Stanford University 2011 |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2011 by Dina Finan
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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