Regensburg 2004 – scientific programme

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AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 50: Poster Session "Biological Physics"

AKB 50.44: Poster

Friday, March 12, 2004, 10:30–13:00, B

Random walks of molecular motors — •Stefan Klumpp¹, Theo M. Nieuwenhuizen^1,2, and Reinhard Lipowsky¹ — ¹Max-Planck-Institut für Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung, 14424 Potsdam — ²Instituut voor Theoretische Fysica, Valckenierstraat 65, 1018 XE Amsterdam

Processive molecular motors perform directed walks along cytoskeletal filaments. Upon unbinding from the filaments, they undergo non-directed Brownian motion until they rebind to the same or another filament. The random walks that result from the interplay of bound and unbound motors movements are studied theoretically. These random walks exhibit anomalous drift behaviour in open compartments and stationary concentration profiles characterized by a balance of bound and unbound motor currents in closed compartments [1]. Mutual exclusion of motors from the binding sites of the filaments leads to traffic jams and a maximal motor current at an intermediate motor concentration. These transport phenomena mimic transport phenomena in cells and are accessible to in vitro experiments.

[1] R. Lipowsky, S. Klumpp, and T. M. Nieuwenhuizen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 108101 (2001).