Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Myosin-Specific Adaptations of In vitro Fluorescence Microscopy-Based Motility Assays
Published on: February 4, 2021
Myosin VI: a structural role in actin organization important for protein and organelle localization and trafficking
Deborah J Frank1, Tatsuhiko Noguchi, Kathryn G Miller
1Department of Biology, Washington University, One Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA.
Abstract:
Myosin VI is a member of a superfamily of actin-based motors with at least 18 different sub-types or classes. Myosins are best known as proteins that use ATP-hydrolysis-mediated conformational changes to move along actin filaments. Because of this property, some myosins, including myosins I, V, and VI, are thought to be transporters of vesicle or protein cargoes. Myosin VI has been implicated in many seemingly different processes through functional studies in flies, worms and mammals. In several cases, its role is not easily explained by transport along actin. In addition, some of the biochemical and biophysical properties of myosin VI suggest other mechanisms of action. In this review, we summarize recent data that suggest diverse functions for myosin VI and offer an explanation for how myosin VI may function similarly in all of them. We hypothesize that the main function of myosin VI is to bind tightly to actin, stabilizing actin cytoskeletal structures and linking actin structures to membranes and protein complexes.
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Myosin Structure and Function
Role of Myosin in Cell Migration
Myosin II is a hexamer comprising two heavy chains with globular heads and coiled-coil tails, two regulatory light chains, and two essential light chains. The ATPase sites on the myosin heads hydrolyze ATP, and the released phosphate generates the force for contraction. It is...
The Sarcomere
Each myosin...
The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles
Introduction to Actin
Actin and Myosin in Muscle Contraction

