Molecular Motors and Stochastic Models

Abstract

The behavior of single molecular motors such as kinesin or myosin V, which move on linear filaments, involves a nontrivial coupling between the biochemical motor cycle and the stochastic movement. This coupling can be studied in the framework of nonuniform ratchet models which are characterized by spatially localized transition rates between the different internal states of the motor. These models can be classified according to their functional relationships between the motor velocity and the concentration of the fuel molecules. The simplest such relationship applies to two subclasses of models for dimeric kinesin and agrees with experimental observations on this molecular motor.