Many cellular components are transported using a combination of the actin- and microtubule-based transport systems. However, how these two systems work together to allow well-regulated transport is not clearly understood. We investigate this question in the Xenopus melanophore model system, where three motors, kinesin II, cytoplasmic dynein, and myosin V, drive aggregation or dispersion of pigment organelles called melanosomes. During dispersion, myosin V functions as a “molecular ratchet” to increase outward transport by selectively terminating dynein-driven minus end runs. We show that there is a continual tug-of-war between the actin and microtubule transport systems, but the microtubule motors kinesin II and dynein are likely coordinated. Finally, we find that the transition from dispersion to aggregation increases dynein-mediated motion, decreases myosin V–mediated motion, and does not change kinesin II–dependent motion. Down-regulation of myosin V contributes to aggregation by impairing its ability to effectively compete with movement along microtubules.
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4 March 2002
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February 25 2002
Interactions and regulation of molecular motors in Xenopus melanophores
Steven P. Gross,
Steven P. Gross
1Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
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M. Carolina Tuma,
M. Carolina Tuma
2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
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Sean W. Deacon,
Sean W. Deacon
2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
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Anna S. Serpinskaya,
Anna S. Serpinskaya
2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
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Amy R. Reilein,
Amy R. Reilein
2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
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Vladimir I. Gelfand
Vladimir I. Gelfand
2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
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Steven P. Gross
1Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
M. Carolina Tuma
2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
Sean W. Deacon
2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
Anna S. Serpinskaya
2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
Amy R. Reilein
2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
Vladimir I. Gelfand
2Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
Address correspondence to Vladimir I. Gelfand, Dept. of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois, B107 CLSL, 601 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801. Tel.: (217) 333-5972. Fax: (217) 244-1648. E-mail: [email protected]
S.P. Gross and M.C. Tuma contributed equally to this work.
M.C. Tuma's present address is Dept. of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520.
A.R. Reilein's present address is Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
*
Abbreviations used in this paper: MSH, melanocyte-stimulating hormone; PTU, phenylthiourea.
Received:
May 10 2001
Revision Received:
January 22 2002
Accepted:
January 22 2002
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
The Rockefeller University Press
2002
J Cell Biol (2002) 156 (5): 855–865.
Article history
Received:
May 10 2001
Revision Received:
January 22 2002
Accepted:
January 22 2002
Citation
Steven P. Gross, M. Carolina Tuma, Sean W. Deacon, Anna S. Serpinskaya, Amy R. Reilein, Vladimir I. Gelfand; Interactions and regulation of molecular motors in Xenopus melanophores . J Cell Biol 4 March 2002; 156 (5): 855–865. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.200105055
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