Myosins are actin-based motors that are generally believed to move by amplifying small structural changes in the core motor domain via a lever arm rotation of the light chain binding domain. However, the lack of a quantitative agreement between observed step sizes and the length of the proposed lever arms from different myosins challenges this view. We analyzed the step size of rat myosin 1d (Myo1d) and surprisingly found that this myosin takes unexpectedly large steps in comparison to other myosins. Engineering the length of the light chain binding domain of rat Myo1d resulted in a linear increase of step size in relation to the putative lever arm length, indicative of a lever arm rotation of the light chain binding domain. The extrapolated pivoting point resided in the same region of the rat Myo1d head domain as in conventional myosins. Therefore, rat Myo1d achieves its larger working stroke by a large calculated ∼90° rotation of the light chain binding domain. These results demonstrate that differences in myosin step sizes are not only controlled by lever arm length, but also by substantial differences in the degree of lever arm rotation.
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28 April 2003
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April 28 2003
Different degrees of lever arm rotation control myosin step size
Danny Köhler,
Danny Köhler
1Institute for General Zoology and Genetics, Westfälische Wilhelms-University, 48149 Münster, Germany
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Christine Ruff,
Christine Ruff
2Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Medical School Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany
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Edgar Meyhöfer,
Edgar Meyhöfer
2Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Medical School Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany
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Martin Bähler
Martin Bähler
1Institute for General Zoology and Genetics, Westfälische Wilhelms-University, 48149 Münster, Germany
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Danny Köhler
1Institute for General Zoology and Genetics, Westfälische Wilhelms-University, 48149 Münster, Germany
Christine Ruff
2Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Medical School Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Edgar Meyhöfer
2Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Medical School Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Martin Bähler
1Institute for General Zoology and Genetics, Westfälische Wilhelms-University, 48149 Münster, Germany
Address correspondence to Martin Bähler, Institute for General Zoology and Genetics, Westfälische Wilhelms-University, Schlossplatz 5, 48149 Münster, Germany. Tel.: 49-251-83-23874. Fax: 49-251-83-24723. E-mail: [email protected]; or Edgar Meyhöfer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2350 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125. Tel.: (734) 647-7856. Fax: (734) 615-6647. E-mail: [email protected]
C. Ruff's present address is European Patent Office, D-80331 Munich, Germany.
E. Meyhöfer's present address is Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125.
*
Abbreviation used in this paper: Myo1d, myosin 1d.
Received:
December 04 2002
Revision Received:
March 11 2003
Accepted:
March 11 2003
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
The Rockefeller University Press
2003
J Cell Biol (2003) 161 (2): 237–241.
Article history
Received:
December 04 2002
Revision Received:
March 11 2003
Accepted:
March 11 2003
Citation
Danny Köhler, Christine Ruff, Edgar Meyhöfer, Martin Bähler; Different degrees of lever arm rotation control myosin step size . J Cell Biol 28 April 2003; 161 (2): 237–241. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.200212039
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