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An actomyosin motor

Nature volume 299, pages 557–559 (1982)Cite this article

Abstract

Recently, two of us (M.Y. and H.S.) described an apparatus, termed the stream cell, in which a circulating flow could be induced by the interaction of heavy meromyosin (HMM) with F-actin (filamentous actin), purified from rabbit skeletal muscle1–5. Here we describe a novel system, the actomyosin motor, consisting of a rotor with F-actin attached which rotates in a specific direction, driven by the ATP-hydrolysing interaction of HMM with F-actin. This actomyosin motor can be prepared much more easily than the stream cell, and motor activity was observed with almost 100% success when the experiment was done carefully. This system represents a novel biological motor which, like the stream cell, is suitable for studying the chemo-mechanical coupling of actin and active myosin fragments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113, Japan

    M. Yano, Y. Yamamoto & H. Shimizu

Authors
  1. M. Yano
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  2. Y. Yamamoto
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  3. H. Shimizu
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Yano, M., Yamamoto, Y. & Shimizu, H. An actomyosin motor. Nature 299, 557–559 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/299557a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/299557a0

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