"Gliding Assays" for Motor Proteins: A Theoretical Analysis

Much information about the workings of molecular motors can be gleaned from motility assays in which cytoskeletal filaments are observed as they glide across a surface coated with motor proteins. The statistical properties of the paths followed by the filaments depend both on the motors (their surface concentration and mode of action) and on the filaments (their length and rigidity). By analyzing the dynamics of this system, we determine these dependencies and suggest how they may be used to infer more accurate quantitative information about motor proteins than is currently extracted from gliding assays.