Polyvalent Motor Dynamics with Burnt Bridge Ratchet Model

Synopsis

Directed motion is key to the function of many biological systems. From chromosome segregation in bacteria to the movement of a virus on a cell surface, molecular motors are among the most prevalent directed motion mechanisms. Among these are a branch of motors known as burnt bridge ratchets (BBRs), which utilize the burning of chemical energy to pull a cargo carrying hub over long distances. Specifically, I will be modelling a BBR that involves a hub interacting with a surface decorated with substrate. The hub binds to the substrate, making use of its elastic pulling force, then burns the chemical bonds leaving a wake of unusable substrate; this process creates a gradient of usable substrate which is perpetuated as the hub moves over the surface. I will explain the model used to generate computational simulations and discuss some of the preliminary results.