Subgroup E

Subgroup E: Intracellular Cargo Transport by Molecular Motors: What a Mesh!

Saturday, December 8, 8:30 am-12:30 pm
Room: 29B

Organizers: Gulcin Pekkurnaz, University of California San Diego; Sandra Encalada, The Scripps Research Institute; and David M. Warshaw, University of Vermont

Molecular motors are nanomachines that transport intracellular cargoes along a complex highway of cytoskeletal tracks that are composed of microtubules and actin filaments. How motor proteins deliver their cargo to its destination while overcoming physical challenges imposed by these complex filament meshworks is far from certain. Specifically, at every filament track intersection, motors are directionally challenged to navigate their cargo through this obstacle or barrier to transport. This special interest subgroup will bring together biophysicists and cell biologists interested in the molecular mechanisms that govern motor cargo transport using in vitro, in silico, and in vivo systems. Questions to be addressed include regulation of navigational motor decisionmaking, motor team work at filament intersections, the physical constraints imposed on motors and their cargo in crowded cellular environments, and how the interplay between motor, track, and cargo determine transport outcomes in both health and disease.

Presentations:

8:30 am             Welcome. Sandra Encalada, The Scripps Research Institute

8:35 am             Introduction. Gulcin Pekkurnaz, University of California San Diego

8:45 am             Shedding new light on intracellular transport regulation with super-resolution microscopy. Melike Lakadamyali, University of Pennsylvania

9:15 am             Microtubule network topology and its implications for cargo routing. Michael Vershinin, University of Utah

9:45 am             Mechanisms of bi-directional microtubule-based motility. Sam Reck-Peterson, University of California, San Diego

10:15 am            Break

10:30 am           A cytoskeletal handoff regulates mitochondrial motility in dividing cells. Erika Holzbaur, University of Pennsylvania

11:00 am           MAP7 recruits kinesin-1 to microtubules to target bidirectional cargoes to the plus end. Adam Hendricks, McGill University

11:30 am          Cargo crowding leads to local traffic jams. Sandhya Koushika, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

12:00 pm          In vitro model of myosin cargo transport in a 3D actin network. David M. Warshaw, University of Vermont (and Closing remarks)

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