Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 28, 2026

Dissecting Mechanoenzymatic Properties of Processive Myosins with Ultrafast Force-Clamp Spectroscopy
Published on: July 1, 2021
Characterizing dynamics of productive dynein stepping by MINFLUX
Joseph Slivka1, Emma S Gleave-Hanford2,3, Mert Golcuk4
1Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Cytoplasmic dynein drives minus-end-directed motility along microtubules by converting ATP hydrolysis into coordinated structural changes but how this process produces directional stepping remains unresolved. The dynamics of dynein stepping have previously been characterized by tracking flexible regions of the motor with limited resolution. Here we site-specifically labeled the microtubule-binding domain of yeast dynein using a cysteine-light mutant and tracked stepping with submillisecond, nanometer precision at physiological ATP using minimal fluorescence photon flux (MINFLUX). We show that dynein hydrolyzes one ATP per step and moves in multiples of 8 nm. Steps are preceded by a transient plus-end-directed displacement ('dip'), corresponding to microtubule release upon ATP binding and diffusion of the stepping head around its partner. A slow ATP-hydrolyzing mutant shows more frequent dips, supporting a model in which ATP hydrolysis produces net forward movement. These results clarify the sequence of mechanochemical events underlying productive dynein stepping.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles
Anaphase A and B
Plus-end depolymerization releases tubulin heterodimers from the terminal region of the microtubule. As tubulin subunits are lost, the Ndc80 complexes detach...
Forces Acting on Chromosomes
Microtubules and motor proteins exert two types of forces on...
Mechanism of Ciliary Motion
The cilia are made up of microtubules in a 9+2 arrangement, with nine microtubule doublet ring bundles, surrounding a pair of central singlet microtubule bundles. The doublet microtubule bundles are...
Microtubule Associated Motor Proteins
Studying the Cytoskeleton

