5. Cell Components

What component of the cytoskeletons do motor proteins use to transport vesicles?

In human cells, ___________________ are used to move a cell within its environment while ___________________ are used to move objects in the environment relative to the cell.

How does the hydrolysis of ATP result in the movement of a motor protein along a cytoskeletal filament?

The eukaryotic cytoskeleton is a highly dynamic network of filaments and motor proteins. Which of the following correctly describe activities of these cytoskeletal components? Select True or False for each statement. T/F Myosin motors walk toward the plus ends of intermediate filaments. T/F Dynein motors are responsible for the whip-like movement of eukaryotic flagella. T/F Kinesin motors move vesicles along tracks toward the microtubule-organizing center. T/F Actin filaments are required for cytoplasmic streaming.

George Palade's research group used the pulse–chase assay to elucidate the secretory pathway in pancreatic cells. If they had instead performed this assay on muscle cells, where would you expect the labeled proteins to end up during the chase? (Muscle cells consist primarily of actin and myosin filaments and have high energy demands for muscle contraction.)

The figure below illustrates the results they observed as the chromosomes moved toward the opposite poles of the cell. Describe these results. What would you conclude about where the microtubules depolymerize from comparing the length of the microtubules on either side of the mark? How could the experimenters determine whether this is the mechanism of chromosome movement in all cells?

Microtubules often produce movement through their interaction with motor proteins. But in some cases, microtubules move cell components when the length of the microtubule changes. Through a series of experiments, researchers determined that microtubules grow and shorten as tubulin proteins are added or removed from their ends. Other experiments showed that microtubules make up the spindle apparatus that 'pulls' chromosomes toward opposite ends (poles) of a dividing cell. The figures below describe a clever experiment done in 1987 to determine whether a spindle microtubule shortens (depolymerizes) at the end holding a chromosome or at the pole end of a dividing cell. Experimenters labeled the microtubules of a dividing cell from a pig kidney with a yellow fluorescent dye. As shown on the left half of the diagram below, they then marked a region halfway along the microtubules by using a laser to eliminate the fluorescence from that region. They did not mark the other side of the spindle (right side of the figure).