Many cargoes move bidirectionally, frequently reversing course between plus- and minus-end microtubule travel. For such cargoes, the extent and importance of interactions between the opposite-polarity motors is unknown. In this paper we test whether opposite-polarity motors on lipid droplets in Drosophila embryos are coordinated and avoid interfering with each other's activity, or whether they engage in a tug of war. To this end we impaired the minus-end transport machinery using dynein and dynactin mutations, and then investigated whether plus-end motion was improved or disrupted. We observe a surprisingly severe impairment of plus-end motion due to these alterations of minus-end motor activity. These observations are consistent with a coordination hypothesis, but cannot be easily explained with a tug of war model. Our measurements indicate that dynactin plays a crucial role in the coordination of plus- and minus-end–directed motors. Specifically, we propose that dynactin enables dynein to participate efficiently in bidirectional transport, increasing its ability to stay “on” during minus-end motion and keeping it “off” during plus-end motion.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
18 February 2002
Article|
February 28 2002
Coordination of opposite-polarity microtubule motors
Steven P. Gross,
Steven P. Gross
1Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
4Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
Search for other works by this author on:
Michael A. Welte,
Michael A. Welte
2Department of Biology, W.M. Keck Center for Cellular Visualization, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454
4Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
Search for other works by this author on:
Steven M. Block,
Steven M. Block
3Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
Search for other works by this author on:
Eric F. Wieschaus
Eric F. Wieschaus
4Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
Search for other works by this author on:
Steven P. Gross
1Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
4Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
Michael A. Welte
2Department of Biology, W.M. Keck Center for Cellular Visualization, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454
4Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
Steven M. Block
3Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
Eric F. Wieschaus
4Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
Address correspondence to E.F. Wieschaus, Dept. of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544. Tel.: (609) 258-5383. Fax: (609) 258-1547. E-mail: [email protected]
S.P. Gross and M.A. Welte contributed equally to this work.
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
The Rockefeller University Press
2002
J Cell Biol (2002) 156 (4): 715–724.
Citation
Steven P. Gross, Michael A. Welte, Steven M. Block, Eric F. Wieschaus; Coordination of opposite-polarity microtubule motors . J Cell Biol 18 February 2002; 156 (4): 715–724. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.200109047
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionEmail alerts
Advertisement
Advertisement