Drag racers and long haulers: the design space of myosin-V-like motor proteins
- 1Case Western Reserve University
Abstract
The ubiquitous myosin class-V molecular motors transport cellular cargo long distances at roughly 0.5 m/s. Plant-specific myosin class-XI motors share nearly identical structural features with myosin-V, yet display velocities from 0.25 to 70 m/s, the fastest transport motor in nature. Empirical observations suggest an inverse relationship between run length and velocity. These observations raise a central question: how can a single motor design support both highly processive "long-hauler" and extremely rapid "drag-racer" motors? We generalize a polymer-based model of force-dependent myosin-V dynamics to encompass the broader design space. The model quantitatively captures experimental data from fast myosin-XI and yields general analytical expressions for key observables. Notably, we derive a Pareto frontier that defines the trade-off between velocity and run distance, as well as the theoretical maximum velocity achievable by such motors. Our results establish the biological limits of natural and synthetic myosin-V-like motor design.
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BibTeX
@misc{holmes2026drag,
title = {{Drag racers and long haulers: the design space of myosin-V-like motor proteins}},
author = {J. Holmes and M. Hinczewski},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.25.761746},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.25.761746v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Drag racers and long haulers: the design space of myosin-V-like motor proteins
AU - J. Holmes
AU - M. Hinczewski
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.25.761746
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.25.761746v1
AB - The ubiquitous myosin class-V molecular motors transport cellular cargo long distances at roughly 0.5 m/s. Plant-specific myosin class-XI motors share nearly identical structural features with myosin-V, yet display velocities from 0.25 to 70 m/s, the fastest transport motor in nature. Empirical observations suggest an inverse relationship between run length and velocity. These observations raise a central question: how can a single motor design support both highly processive "long-hauler" and extremely rapid "drag-racer" motors? We generalize a polymer-based model of force-dependent myosin-V dynamics to encompass the broader design space. The model quantitatively captures experimental data from fast myosin-XI and yields general analytical expressions for key observables. Notably, we derive a Pareto frontier that defines the trade-off between velocity and run distance, as well as the theoretical maximum velocity achievable by such motors. Our results establish the biological limits of natural and synthetic myosin-V-like motor design.
ER -