Letter abstract
Nature Nanotechnology 3, 552 - 556 (2008)
Published online: 10 August 2008 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.216
Subject Categories: Molecular machines and motors | Surface patterning and imaging
Quantum-dot-assisted characterization of microtubule rotations during cargo transport
Bert Nitzsche1, Felix Ruhnow1 & Stefan Diez1
Abstract
Owing to their wide spectrum of in vivo functions, motor proteins, such as kinesin-1, show great potential for application as nanomachines in engineered environments. When attached to a substrate surface, these motors are envisioned to shuttle cargo that is bound to reconstituted microtubules—one component of the cell cytoskeleton—from one location to another1, 2. One potentially serious problem for such applications is, however, the rotation of the microtubules around their longitudinal axis3, 4. Here we explore this issue by labelling the gliding microtubules with quantum dots to simultaneously follow their sinusoidal side-to-side and up-and-down motion in three dimensions with nanometre accuracy. Microtubule rotation, which originates from the kinesin moving along the individual protofilaments of the microtubule, was not impeded by the quantum dots. However, pick-up of large cargo inhibited the rotation but did not affect the velocity of microtubule gliding. Our data show that kinesin-driven microtubules make flexible, responsive and effective molecular shuttles for nanotransport applications.
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany
Correspondence to: Stefan Diez1 e-mail: diez@mpi-cbg.de
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