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. 1995 Jan 17;92(2):574–578. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.2.574

The force generated by a single kinesin molecule against an elastic load.

E Meyhöfer 1, J Howard 1
PMCID: PMC42784  PMID: 7831332

Abstract

To probe the mechanism by which the motor protein kinesin moves along microtubules, we have developed a highly sensitive technique for measuring the force exerted by a single motor molecule. In this technique, one end of a microtubule is attached to the tip of a flexible glass fiber of calibrated stiffness. The other end of the microtubule makes contact with a surface sparsely coated with kinesin. By imaging the tip of the glass fiber on a photodiode detector, displacement of the microtubule by kinesin through as little as 1 nm can be detected and forces as small as 1 pN resolved. Using this force-fiber apparatus we have characterized the mechanical output of this molecular motor. The speed at which a molecule of kinesin moved along the surface of a microtubule decreased linearly as the elastic force was increased. The force required to stop a single kinesin molecule was 5.4 +/- 1.0 pN (mean +/- SD; n = 16), independent of the stiffness of the fiber, the damping from the fluid, and whether the ATP concentration was high or low.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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