Drift coefficients of motor proteins moving along sidesteps

In the paper, we investigate two motor proteins moving along the sidesteps： a motor protein moving along a two- dimensional sidestep and another protein moving along a three-dimensional sidestep. The drift coefficients （or stationary average velocities） of these two motor proteins are calculated. We believe that our investigation of the motor proteins moving along the sidesteps in the present paper can benefit the investigation of the transport of the motor proteins to some extent.

Understanding protein translocation across chloroplast membranes:Translocons and motor proteins

Subcellular organelles in eukaryotes are surrounded by lipid membranes.In an endomembrane system,vesicle trafficking is the primary mechanism for the delivery of organellar proteins to specific organelles.However,organellar proteins for chloroplasts,mitochondria,the nucleus,and peroxisomes that are translated in the cytosol are directly imported into their target organelles.Chloroplasts are a plant-specific organelle with outer and inner envelope membranes,a dual-membrane structure that is similar to mitochondria.Interior chloroplast proteins translated by cytosolic ribosomes are thus translocated through TOC and TIC complexes(translocons in the outer and inner envelope of chloroplasts,respectively),with stromal ATPase motor proteins playing a critical role in pulling pre-proteins through these import channels.Over the last three decades,the identity and function of TOC/TIC components and stromal motor proteins have been actively investigated,which has shed light on the action mechanisms at a molecular level.However,there remains some disagreement over the exact composition of TIC complexes and genuine stromal motor proteins.In this review,we discuss recent findings on the mechanisms by which proteins are translocated through TOC/TIC complexes and discuss future prospects for this field of research.

Origin of tradeoff between movement velocity and attachment duration of kinesin motor on a microtubule

Kinesin-1 motor protein is a homodimer containing two identical motor domains connected by a common long coiledcoil stalk via two flexible neck linkers. The motor can step on a microtubule with a velocity of about 1 μm·s-1and an attachment duration of about 1 s under physiological conditions. The available experimental data indicate a tradeoff between velocity and attachment duration under various experimental conditions, such as variation of the solution temperature,variation of the strain between the two motor domains, and so on. However, the underlying mechanism of the tradeoff is unknown. Here, the mechanism is explained by a theoretical study of the dynamics of the motor under various experimental conditions, reproducing quantitatively the available experimental data and providing additional predictions. How the various experimental conditions lead to different decreasing rates of attachment duration versus velocity is also explained.

Perspectives on the origin of microfilaments, microtubules, the relevant chaperonin system and cytoskeletal motors- a commentary on the spiro chaete origin of flagella

The origin of cytoskeleton and the origin of relevant intracellular transportation system are big problems for understanding the emergence of eukaryotic cells. The present article summarized relevant information of evidences and molecular traces on the origin of actin, tubulin, the chaperonin system for folding them, myosins, kinesins, axonemal dyneins and cytoplasmic dyneins. On this basis the authors proposed a series of works, which should be done in the future, and indicated the ways for reaching the targets. These targets are mainly: 1) the reconstruction of evolutionary path from MreB protein of archaeal ancestor of eukaryotic cells to typical actin; 2) the finding of the MreB or MreB-related proteins in crenarchaea and using them to examine J. A. Lake's hypothesis on the origin of eukaryote from "eocytes" (crenarchaea); 3) the examinations of the existence and distribution of cytoskeleton made of MreB-related protein within coccoid archaea, especially in amoeboid archaeon Thermoplasm acidophilum; 4) using Thermoplasma as a model of archaeal ancestor of eukaryotic cells; 5) the searching for the homolog of ancestral dynein in present-day living archaea. During the writing of this article, Margulis' famous spirochaete hypothesis on the origin of flagella and cilia was unexpectedly involved and analyzed from aspects of tubulins, dyneins and spirochaetes. Actually, spirochaete cannot be reasonably assumed as the ectosymbiotic ancestor of eukaryotic flagella and cilia, since their swing depends upon large amount of bacterial flagella beneath the flexible outer wall, but not depends upon their intracellular tubules and the assumed dyneins. In this case, if they had "evolved" into cilia and lost their bacterial flagella, they would immediately become immobile! In fact, tubulin and dynein-like proteins have not been found in any spirochaete.

Stochastic Resonance of Single (Independent of Each Other) Protein Motor System with Fluctuating Potential Barrier

A single （independent of each other） protein motor system with fluctuating potential barrier and subject to sine electric field is investigated. We first derive the approximate Langevin equation of this system with fluctuating potential barrier. Then from this approximate Langevin equation, we calculate the signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） in the adiabatic limit. The phenomenon of stochastic resonance is found for this protein motor system with fluctuating potential barrier.

Appearance of Stochastic Resonance in Protein Motor System

A protein motor system driven by sine electric field is investigated. The signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） is derived in the adiabatic limit. The phenomenon of stochastic resonance is found for this protein motor system.

Velocity and Dispersion for a Two-Dimensional Random Walk

In the paper,we consider the transport of a two-dimensional random walk.The velocity and the dispersionof this two-dimensional random walk are derived.It mainly show that:(i)by controlling the values of the transition rates,the direction of the random walk can be reversed;(ii)for some suitably selected transition rates,our two-dimensionalrandom walk can be efficient in comparison with the one-dimensional random walk.Our work is motivated in part by thechallenge to explain the unidirectional transport of motor proteins.When the motor proteins move at the turn pointsof their tracks(i.e.,the cytoskeleton filaments and the DNA molecular tubes),some of our results in this paper can beused to deal with the problem.

Inhibition of kinesin-5 improves regeneration of injured axons by a novel microtubule-based mechanism

Microtubules have been identified as a powerful target for augmenting regeneration of injured adult axons in the central nervous system. Drugs that stabilize microtubules have shown some promise, but there are concerns that abnormally stabilizing microtubules may have only limited benefits for regeneration, while at the same time may be detrimental to the normal work that microtubules perform for the axon. Kinesin-5 （also called kifl I or EgS）, a molecular motor protein best known for its crucial role in mitosis, acts as a brake on microtubule movements by other motor proteins in the axon. Drugs that inhibit kinesin-5, originally developed to treat cancer, result in greater mobility of microtubules in the axon and an overall shift in the forces on the microtubule array. As a result, the axon grows faster, retracts less, and more readily enters environments that are inhibitory to axonal regeneration. Thus, drugs that inhibit kinesin-5 offer a novel microtubule-based means to boost axonal regeneration without the concerns that accompany abnormal stabilization of the microtubule array. Even so, inhibiting kinesin-5 is not without its own caveats, such as potential problems with navigation of the regenerating axon to its target, as well as morphological effects on dendrites that could affect learning and memory if the drugs reach the brain.

Organelle trafficking, the cytoskeleton, and pollen tube growth

The pollen tube is fundamental for the reproduction of seed plants. Characteristically, it grows relatively quickly and uni-directionally （＂polarized growth＂） to extend the male gametophyte to reach the female gametophyte. The pollen tube forms a channel through which the sperm cells move so that they can reach their targets in the ovule. To grow quickly and directionally, the pollen tube requires an intense movement of organelles and vesicles that allows the cell＇s contents to be distributed to sustain the growth rate. While the various organelles distribute more or less uniformly within the pollen tube, Golgi-released secretory vesicles accumulate massively at the pollen tube apex, that is, the growing region. This intense movement of organelles and vesicles is dependent on the dynamics of the cytoskeleton, which reorganizes differentially in response to external signals and coordinates membrane trafficking with the growth rate of pollen tubes.