title: Processive cytoskeletal motors studied with single-molecule fluorescence techniques.
abstract: Processive cytoskeletal motors from the myosin, kinesin, and dynein families walk on actin filaments and microtubules to drive cellular transport and organization in eukaryotic cells. These remarkable molecular machines are able to take hundreds of successive steps at speeds of up to several microns per second, allowing them to effectively move vesicles and organelles throughout the cytoplasm. Here, we focus on single-molecule fluorescence techniques and discuss their wide-ranging applications to the field of cytoskeletal motor research. We cover both traditional fluorescence and sub-diffraction imaging of motors, providing examples of how fluorescence data can be used to measure biophysical parameters of motors such as coordination, stepping mechanism, gating, and processivity. We also outline some remaining challenges in the field and suggest future directions.
authors.affiliation: Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Vladislav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Belyy
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: yildiz@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yildiz
mesh_terms: D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins
keywords: Cytoskeletal motors; Dynein; Intracellular transport; Kinesin; Molecular motors; Motility; Myosin; Processivity; Single-molecule imaging; Sub-diffraction localization; TIRF; Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy