bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.12.06.471346
Oscillatory movement of a dynein-microtubule complex crosslinked with DNA origami
Abstract
During repetitive bending of cilia and flagella, axonemal dynein molecules move in an oscillatory manner along a microtubule (MT), but how the minus-end-directed motor dynein can oscillate back and forth is unknown. There are various factors that may regulate the dynein activities, e.g., the nexin-dynein regulatory complex, radial spokes, and central apparatus. In order to understand the basic mechanism of the oscillatory movement, we constructed a simple model system composed of MTs, outer-arm dyneins, and DNA origami that crosslinks the MTs. Electron microscopy (EM) showed patches of dynein molecules crossbridging two MTs in two opposite orientations; the oppositely oriented dyneins are expected to produce opposing forces. The optical trapping experiments showed that the dynein-MT-DNA-origami complex actually oscillate back and forth after photolysis of caged ATP. Intriguingly, the complex, when held at one end, showed repetitive bending motions. The results show that a simple system composed of ensembles of oppositely oriented dyneins, MTs, and inter-MT crosslinkers, without the additional regulatory structures, has an intrinsic ability to cause oscillation and repetitive bending motions.
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Hirose, K., Higuchi, H., Abdellatef, S. A., Tadakuma, H., Yan, K., Fujiwara, T., Fukumoto, K., Kondo, Y., Takazaki, H., Boudria, R., Yasunaga, T.. 2021-12-07. Oscillatory movement of a dynein-microtubule complex crosslinked with DNA origami. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.06.471346
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