Abstract
Although the biochemical properties of the actin/myosin interaction have been studied extensively using actin activation of myosin ATPase as an assay1,2, until recently no well-defined assay has been available to measure the mechanical properties of ATP-dependent movement of myosin along actin filaments. The first direct measurements of the rate of myosin movement in vitro3,4 used a naturally occurring, biochemically ill-defined array of actin filaments from the alga Nitella. We report here the construction of an oriented array of filaments reconstituted from purified muscle actin and the use of this array in a biochemically defined quantitative assay for the directed movement of myosin-coated polystyrene beads. We demonstrate for the first time that actin alone, linked to a substratum by a protein anchor, is sufficient to support movement of myosin at rates consistent with the speeds of muscle contraction and other forms of cell motility.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Taylor, E. W. C.R.C. Crit. Rev. Biochem. 6, 103–164 (1979).
Adelstein, R. S. & Eisenberg, E. A. Rev. Biochem. 49, 921–956 (1980).
Sheetz, M. P. & Spudich, J. A. Nature 303, 31–35 (1983).
Sheetz, M. P., Chasan, R. & Spudich, J. A. J. Cell Biol. 99, 1867–1871 (1984).
Brown, S. S., Yamamoto, K. & Spudich, J. A. J. Cell Biol. 93, 205–210 (1982).
Yamamoto, K., Pardee, J. D., Reidler, J., Stryer, L. & Spudich, J. A. J. Cell Biol. 95, 711–719 (1982).
Giffard, R. G., Weeds, A. G. & Spudich, J. A. J. Cell Biol. 98, 1796–1803 (1984).
Huxley, H. E. Science 164, 1356–1366 (1969).
Crowder, M. S. & Cooke, R. J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 5, 131–146 (1984).
Higashi-Fujime, S. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. quant. Biol. 66, 69–75 (1982).
Yano, M., Yamamoto, Y. & Shimizu, H. Nature 299, 557–559 (1982).
Yanagida, T. Nakase, M., Nishiyama, K. & Oosawa, F. Nature 307, 58–60 (1984).
Spudich, J. A. & Watt, S. J. biol. Chem. 246, 4866–4871 (1971).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Spudich, J., Kron, S. & Sheetz, M. Movement of myosin-coated beads on oriented filaments reconstituted from purified actin. Nature 315, 584–586 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/315584a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/315584a0
This article is cited by
-
Mechanism, autonomy and biological explanation
Biology & Philosophy (2021)
-
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the myosin mesa: viewing an old disease in a new light
Biophysical Reviews (2018)
-
The path to visualization of walking myosin V by high-speed atomic force microscopy
Biophysical Reviews (2014)
-
One path to understanding energy transduction in biological systems
Nature Medicine (2012)
-
The Lasker Awards: motors take centre stage
Nature Cell Biology (2012)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.