Department of Physics, Center for the Physics of Living Cells, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2010 Apr 7;12(13):3080-95. doi: 10.1039/b920234j. Epub 2010 Feb 19.
Nearly all aspects of nucleic acid metabolism involve motor proteins. This diverse group of enzymes, which includes DNA and RNA polymerases, the ribosome, helicases, and other translocases, converts chemical energy in the form of bond hydrolysis into concerted motion along nucleic acid filaments. The direct observation of this motion at its fundamental distance scale of one base pair has required the development of new ultrasensitive techniques. Recent advances in optical traps have now made these length scales, once the exclusive realm of crystallographic techniques, accessible. Several new studies using optical traps have revealed for the first time how motor proteins translocate along their substrates in a stepwise fashion. Though these techniques have only begun to be applied to biological problems, the unprecedented access into nucleic acid motor protein movement has already provided important insights into their mechanism. In this perspective, we review these advances and offer our view on the future of this exciting development.
几乎所有核酸代谢的方面都涉及到马达蛋白。这组多样化的酶包括 DNA 和 RNA 聚合酶、核糖体、解旋酶和其他移位酶，它们将化学键水解产生的化学能转化为沿着核酸丝的协同运动。这种运动在其基本的碱基对距离尺度上的直接观察需要开发新的超灵敏技术。最近光学陷阱的进展使得这些长度尺度，曾经是晶体学技术的专属领域，变得可以达到。使用光学陷阱的几项新研究首次揭示了马达蛋白如何以逐步的方式沿着它们的底物进行移位。尽管这些技术才刚刚开始应用于生物问题，但对核酸马达蛋白运动的前所未有的了解已经为它们的机制提供了重要的见解。在这个视角下，我们回顾这些进展，并对这一令人兴奋的发展的未来提出我们的看法。
