Motor domain-dependent localization of myo1b (myr-1)

Myosin-I is the single-headed, membrane binding member of the myosin superfamily that plays a role in membrane dynamics and transport [1-6]. Its molecular functions and its mechanism of regulation are not known. In mammalian cells, myosin-I is excluded from specific microfilament populations, indicating that its localization is tightly regulated. Identifying the mechanism of this localization, and the specific actin populations with which myosin-I interacts, is crucial to understanding the molecular functions of this motor. eGFP chimeras of myo1b [7] were imaged in live and fixed NRK cells. Ratio-imaging microscopy shows that myo1b-eGFP concentrates within dynamic areas of the actin cytoskeleton, most notably in membrane ruffles. Myo1b-eGFP does not associate with stable actin bundles or stress fibers. Truncation mutants consisting of the motor or tail domains show a partially overlapping cytoplasmic localization with full-length myo1b, but do not concentrate in membrane ruffles. A chimera consisting of the light chain and tail domains of myo1b and the motor domain from nonmuscle myosin-IIb (nmMIIb) concentrates on actin filaments in ruffles as well as to stress fibers. In vitro motility assays show that the exclusion of myo1b from certain actin filament populations is due to the regulation of the actomyosin interaction by tropomyosin. Therefore, we conclude that tropomyosin and spatially regulated actin polymerization play important roles in regulating the function and localization of myo1b.