Elastically coupled molecular motors

We study the influence of filament elasticity on the motion of collective molecular motors. It is found that for a backbone flexibility exceeding a characteristic value (motor stiffness divided through the mean displacement between attached motors), the ability of motors to produce force reduces as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 1998-06
Main Authors: Vilfan, Andrej, Frey, Erwin, Schwabl, Franz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Backbone
Computer simulation
Coupling (molecular)
Crossovers
Elasticity
Flexibility
Molecular motors
Monte Carlo simulation
Muscles
Stiffness
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Summary:We study the influence of filament elasticity on the motion of collective molecular motors. It is found that for a backbone flexibility exceeding a characteristic value (motor stiffness divided through the mean displacement between attached motors), the ability of motors to produce force reduces as compared to rigidly coupled motors, while the maximum velocity remains unchanged. The force-velocity-relation in two different analytic approximations is calculated and compared with Monte-Carlo simulations. Finally, we extend our model by introducing motors with a strain-dependent detachment rate. A remarkable crossover from the nearly hyperbolic shape of the Hill curve for stiff backbones to a linear force-velocity relation for very elastic backbones is found. With realistic model parameters we show that the backbone flexibility plays no role under physiological conditions in muscles, but it should be observable in certain in vitro assays.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.9711262