Date: Monday, September 30, 2002
Time: 3:15-4:15pm
Place: 318 DBRT

Speaker: Kevin T. Vaughan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

From: Department of Biological Sciences,
University of Notre Dame

Title: Probing the Complexity of Molecular Motor Protein Regulation

Abstract
Intracellular transport of cytoplasmic and nuclear components is deliberate, rapid and highly coordinated. Molecular motor proteins function as one mechanism of transport and carry organelles, chromosomes and protein complexes along cytoskeletal filament systems composed of actin and tubulin. Using one such motor protein as a model system, we have focused on how motor proteins bind to their respective cargos. To evaluate the contribution of multi-valent interactions, we have invoked biochemical, mutagenic and live-cell analyses. Assuming that important interactions are regulated, we have identified motor subunits that are modulated by phosphorylation. This mapping has revealed coordination of motor loading through phosphorylation of two key subunits. These studies implicate a novel "search-capture" mechanism in the initiation of motor-driven transport.