Watching ‘ankle’ action of myosin V

Abstract

Myosin Va is an actin-based linear molecular motor that ‘walks’ in discrete ∼35-nm steps following a “hand over hand”, alternating site mechanism in which the two feet (‘heads’ or ‘motor domains’) switch between leading and trailing positions along the actin. Previously, we have reported that the lifted foot has access to a next forward binding site by combination of its rotational Brownian motion through a flexible joint at the leg(‘neck’ or ‘lever arm’)-leg junction and forward movement of the joint by lever action of the landed leg.