Probing single processive molecular motors with high-speed optical tweezers and fluorescence microscopy

Here we present development of optical techniques for the study of single processive myosin motors based on the combination of high-speed optical tweezers force spectroscopy and single molecule fluorescence imaging. Ultrafast force-clamp spectroscopy1 is applied to study the dependence of single chemo-mechanical steps of processive myosin motors on the applied load. On the other hand, single molecule localization through FIONA (Fluorescence Imaging with One Nanometer Accuracy)2, 3 is applied to in vitro motility assay to measure parameters such as the runlength, velocity and step size of single myosin V motors, labeled with Quantum Dots, under unloaded conditions.