Jamming of molecular motors as a tool for transport cargos along microtubules

Abstract

The hopping model for cargo transport by molecular motors introduced in Refs. goldman1, goldman2, is extended here in order to incorporate the movement of cargo-motor complexes. In this context, hopping process expresses the possibility for cargo to be exchanged between neighbor motors at a microtubule where the transport takes place. Jamming of motors is essential for cargos to execute long-range movement in this way. Results from computer simulations performed using the extended model indicate that cargo may execute bidirectional movement in the presence of motors of a single polarity, confirming previous analytical results. Moreover, these results suggest the existence of a balance between cargo hopping and the movement of the complex that may control the efficiency of cargo transfer and cargo delivering. Considerations about the energy involved in the transport process show that the model presented here offers a considerable advantage over other models in the literature for which cargo movement is restricted to the movement of cargo-motor complexes.