Abstract
We show for the first time the effects of heavy-hydrogen water (2H2O) and heavy-oxygen water (H218O) on the gliding speed of microtubules on kinesin-1 coated surfaces. Increased fractions of isotopic waters used in the motility solution decreased the gliding speed of microtubules by a maximum of 21% for heavy-hydrogen and 5% for heavy-oxygen water. We also show that gliding microtubule speed returns to its original speed after being treated with heavy-hydrogen water. We discuss possible interpretations of these results and the importance for future studies of water effects on kinesin and microtubules. We also discuss the implication for using heavy waters in biomolecular devices incorporating molecular motors.
Highlights
Water plays a crucial role in the interactions of biomolecules especially when biological surfaces bind and unbind
We show the effects of changing the water isotope has on the speed of gliding microtubules using kinesin-1
Increasing the amount of either the heavy-hydrogen water buffer or the heavy-oxygen water buffer used in the motility solution caused the most likely speed measurement to decrease in a linear fashion
Summary
Water plays a crucial role in the interactions of biomolecules especially when biological surfaces bind and unbind. Changes in osmotic stress affect the rate of transport of water between the hydration shells around surfaces and the bulk water (Parsegian, Rand & Rau, 2000). On- and off-rates for surface-surface binding is strongly affected by changes in the activity of bulk water. As noted by Parsegian, water activity changes that affect on- and off-rates are often overlooked, even in meticulous biophysical studies (Parsegian, Rand & Rau, 1995). The effects of water activity have not been extensively studied in the molecular motors field, and in particular, for the kinesin-1 and microtubule system. We show the effects of changing the water isotope has on the speed of gliding microtubules using kinesin-1
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