Models of coupled molecular motors

SEBASTIÁN BOUZAT; FERNANDO FALO

Zaragoza, España

Congreso; IV Spanish Portuguese Biophysical Congress; 2010

We study theoretically the effect of interactions between molecular motors on the dynamics of a cargo pulled by multiple kinesins. We consider a realistic Monte Carlo model for the movement of individual motors, that considers the details of their coupling with the cargo and their detachment and attachment rates. We find that motors interactions lead to a huge change in the velocity-force relation for the cargo. In particular, they produce a considerable decreasing of the stall force. Moreover, we show that the number of motors that effectively pull the cargo depends on the characteristics of the coupling spring that link them to the cargo. We study the load--velocity curves, the run lengths, and the distribution of forces on the different motors, comparing results with those from models with non detaching and/or non interacting motors. We analyze the role of different models for detachment and of back steps.