Crowding and pausing strongly affect dynamics of kinesin-1 motors along microtubules

Molecular motors of the kinesin-1 family move in a directed and processive fashion along microtubules (MTs). It is generally accepted that steric hindrance of motors leads to crowding effects; however, little is known about the specific interactions involved. We employ an agent-based lattice gas model to study the impact of interactions which enhance the detachment of motors from crowded filaments on their collective dynamics. The predictions of our model quantitatively agree with the experimentally observed concentration dependence of key motor characteristics including their run length, dwell time, velocity, and landing rate.

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