Single-Molecule Fluorescence and in Vivo Optical Traps: How Multiple Dyneins and Kinesins Interact

Benjamin H. Blehm and Paul R. Selvin

In this review, we describe experimental systems at multiple levels of complexity, including single-motor-type in vitro assays, multimotor in vitro assays, purified-organelle in vitro assays, and finally in vivo cellular assays (Figure 1). This spread of experiments allows an unprecedented view of the transport complex, as kinesin and dynein can be observed with differing components of the transport complex (i.e., different levels of accessory proteins) and in different environments. Through the combination of measurements at all of these levels of complexity, the ability to parse out the function of parts of the transport complex, and reconstitute it in vitro, becomes a real possibility.

DOI