Staff profile
Publication details for Dr Elizabeth Bromley
Bromley, EHC, Kuwada, NJ, Zuckermann, MJ, Donadini, R, Samii, L, Blab, GA, Gemmen, GJ, Lopez, BJ, Curmi, PMG, Forde, NR, Woolfson, DN & Linke, H (2009). The Tumbleweed: towards a synthetic protein motor. Hfsp Journal 3(3): 204-212.- Publication type: Journal papers: academic
- ISSN/ISBN: 1955-2068
Author(s) from Durham
Abstract
Biomolecular motors have inspired the design and construction of
artificial nanoscale motors and machines based on nucleic acids, small
molecules, and inorganic nanostructures. However, the high degree of
sophistication and efficiency of biomolecular motors, as well as their
specific biological function, derives from the complexity afforded by
protein building blocks. Here, we discuss a novel bottom-up approach to
understanding biological motors by considering the construction of
synthetic protein motors. Specifically, we present a design for a
synthetic protein motor that moves along a linear track, dubbed the
"Tumbleweed." This concept uses three discrete ligand-dependent
DNA-binding domains to perform cyclically ligand-gated, rectified
diffusion along a synthesized DNA molecule. Here we describe how de
novo peptide design and molecular biology could be used to produce the
Tumbleweed, and we explore the fundamental motor operation of such a
design using numerical simulations. The construction of this and more
sophisticated protein motors is an exciting challenge that is likely to
enhance our understanding of the structure-function relationship in
biological motors. [DOI: 10.2976/1.3111282]