The significance of the properties of water for the working cycle of the kinesin molecular motor

Anna Kuffel; Monika Szałachowska

doi:10.1063/1.5020208

The significance of the properties of water for the working cycle of the kinesin molecular motor

Abstract

Explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations were performed in this study to investigate and discuss several aspects of the influence of the properties of water on the working cycle of a molecular motor from the kinesin superfamily. The main objects of attention were: the binding of the neck linker and the association of the kinesin and the tubulin. The docking of the neck linker is considered a crucial event during the working cycle and is said to be the one that contributes to propelling the motor forward. Herein, it is demonstrated that the solvent contributes to the force-generating mechanism of the motor—the absolute value of the force generated by the linker depends on the properties of the solvent. The force can also depend on the instantaneous conformation of the protein. Our results show that the force may not be strictly the same during every step, as well as during the whole process of the docking, but we checked that even the smaller forces measured by us were big enough to propel the kinesin head along the protofilament with the required speed. It is also shown that the dynamics of the process of approach of the kinesin to its binding site on the microtubule track changes rapidly as the proteins come closer. The influence of the properties of interfacial water on the kinetics of this process is discussed here.

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artykuł w czasopiśmie wyróżnionym w JCR

Published in:

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS no. 148, edition 23, pages 1 - 16,
ISSN: 0021-9606

Language:

English

Publication year:

2018

Bibliographic description:

Kuffel A., Szałachowska M.: The significance of the properties of water for the working cycle of the kinesin molecular motor// JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS. -Vol. 148, iss. 23 (2018), s.1-16

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