Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Molecular motors

A staggering giant

The protein dynein 'walks' along filaments to transport various cargoes within the cell. Two studies reveal that, unlike other motor proteins, dynein's steps are not strictly coordinated.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Stepping patterns in motor proteins.

References

  1. DeWitt, M. A., Chang, A. Y., Combs, P. A. & Yildiz, A. Science 335, 221–225 (2012).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Qiu, W. et al. Nature Struct. Mol. Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.2205 (2012).

  3. Vallee, R. B., Williams, J. C., Varma, D. & Barnhart, L. E. J. Neurobiol. 58, 189–200 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Sakakibara, H. & Oiwa, K. FEBS J. 278, 2964–2979 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Toba, S., Watanabe T. M., Yamaguchi-Okimoto, L., Toyoshima, Y. Y. & Higuchi, H. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 5741–5745 (2006).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Gennerich, A., Carter, A. P., Reck-Peterson, S. L. & Vale, R. D. Cell 131, 952–965 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Warshaw, D. M. et al. Biophys. J. 88, L30–L32 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Churchman, L. S., Ökten, Z., Rock, R. S., Dawson, J. F. & Spudich, J. A. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 102, 1419–1423 (2005).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Rosenfeld, S. S., Fordyce, P. M., Jefferson, G. M., King, P. H. & Block, S. M. J. Biol. Chem. 278, 18550–18556 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Ori-McKenney, K. M., Xu, J., Gross, S. P. & Vallee, R. B. Nature Cell Biol. 12, 1228–1234 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Wilhelm J. Walter or Stefan Diez.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Walter, W., Diez, S. A staggering giant. Nature 482, 44–45 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/482044a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/482044a

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing