The actomyosin interface contains an evolutionary conserved core and an ancillary interface involved in specificity.

Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria, moves by an atypical process called gliding motility. Actomyosin interactions are central to gliding motility. However, the details of these interactions remained elusive until now. Here, we report an atomic structure of the divergent Plasmodium falciparum actomyosin system determined by electron cryomicroscopy at the end of the powerstroke (Rigor state). The structure provides insights into the detailed interactions that are required for the parasite to produce the force and motion required for infectivity. Remarkably, the footprint of the myosin motor on filamentous actin is conserved with respect to higher eukaryotes, despite important variability in the Plasmodium falciparum myosin and actin elements that make up the interface. Comparison with other actomyosin complexes reveals a conserved core interface common to all actomyosin complexes, with an ancillary interface involved in defining the spatial positioning of the motor on actin filaments.

Full-length Plasmodium falciparum myosin A and essential light chain PfELC structures provide new anti-malarial targets.

Parasites from the genus Plasmodium are the causative agents of malaria. The mobility, infectivity, and ultimately pathogenesis of Plasmodium falciparum rely on a macromolecular complex, called the glideosome. At the core of the glideosome is an essential and divergent Myosin A motor (PfMyoA), a first order drug target against malaria. Here, we present the full-length structure of PfMyoA in two states of its motor cycle. We report novel interactions that are essential for motor priming and the mode of recognition of its two light chains (PfELC and MTIP) by two degenerate IQ motifs. Kinetic and motility assays using PfMyoA variants, along with molecular dynamics, demonstrate how specific priming and atypical sequence adaptations tune the motor's mechano-chemical properties. Supported by evidence for an essential role of the PfELC in malaria pathogenesis, these structures provide a blueprint for the design of future anti-malarials targeting both the glideosome motor and its regulatory elements.

Plasmodium myosin A drives parasite invasion by an atypical force generating mechanism.

Plasmodium parasites are obligate intracellular protozoa and causative agents of malaria, responsible for half a million deaths each year. The lifecycle progression of the parasite is reliant on cell motility, a process driven by myosin A, an unconventional single-headed class XIV molecular motor. Here we demonstrate that myosin A from Plasmodium falciparum (PfMyoA) is critical for red blood cell invasion. Further, using a combination of X-ray crystallography, kinetics, and in vitro motility assays, we elucidate the non-canonical interactions that drive this motor's function. We show that PfMyoA motor properties are tuned by heavy chain phosphorylation (Ser19), with unphosphorylated PfMyoA exhibiting enhanced ensemble force generation at the expense of speed. Regulated phosphorylation may therefore optimize PfMyoA for enhanced force generation during parasite invasion or for fast motility during dissemination. The three PfMyoA crystallographic structures presented here provide a blueprint for discovery of specific inhibitors designed to prevent parasite infection.

MAP7 regulates organelle transport by recruiting kinesin-1 to microtubules.

Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) regulate microtubule polymerization, dynamics, and organization. In addition, MAPs alter the motility of kinesin and dynein to control trafficking along microtubules. MAP7 (ensconsin, E-MAP-115) is a ubiquitous MAP that organizes the microtubule cytoskeleton in mitosis and neuronal branching. MAP7 also recruits kinesin-1 to microtubules. To understand how the activation of kinesin-1 by MAP7 regulates the motility of organelles transported by ensembles of kinesin and dynein, we isolated organelles and reconstituted their motility in vitro In the absence of MAP7, isolated phagosomes exhibit approximately equal fractions of plus- and minus-end-directed motility along microtubules. MAP7 causes a pronounced shift in motility; phagosomes move toward the plus-end ∼80% of the time, and kinesin teams generate more force. To dissect MAP7-mediated regulation of kinesin-driven transport, we examined its effects on the motility and force generation of single and teams of full-length kinesin-1 motors. We find that MAP7 does not alter the force exerted by a single kinesin-1 motor, but instead increases its binding rate to the microtubule. For ensembles of kinesin, a greater number of kinesin motors are simultaneously engaged and generating force to preferentially target organelles toward the microtubule plus-end.

Recruitment of two dyneins to an mRNA-dependent Bicaudal D transport complex.

We investigated the role of full-length Drosophila Bicaudal D (BicD) binding partners in dynein-dynactin activation for mRNA transport on microtubules. Full-length BicD robustly activated dynein-dynactin motility only when both the mRNA binding protein Egalitarian (Egl) and K10 mRNA cargo were present, and electron microscopy showed that both Egl and mRNA were needed to disrupt a looped, auto-inhibited BicD conformation. BicD can recruit two dimeric dyneins, resulting in faster speeds and longer runs than with one dynein. Moving complexes predominantly contained two Egl molecules and one K10 mRNA. This mRNA-bound configuration makes Egl bivalent, likely enhancing its avidity for BicD and thus its ability to disrupt BicD auto-inhibition. Consistent with this idea, artificially dimerized Egl activates dynein-dynactin-BicD in the absence of mRNA. The ability of mRNA cargo to orchestrate the activation of the mRNP (messenger ribonucleotide protein) complex is an elegant way to ensure that only cargo-bound motors are motile.

Reconstitution of the core of the malaria parasite glideosome with recombinant Plasmodium class XIV myosin A and Plasmodium actin.

Motility of the apicomplexan malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is enabled by a multiprotein glideosome complex, whose core is the class XIV myosin motor, PfMyoA, and a divergent Plasmodium actin (PfAct1). Parasite motility is necessary for host-cell invasion and virulence, but studying its molecular basis has been hampered by unavailability of sufficient amounts of PfMyoA. Here, we expressed milligram quantities of functional full-length PfMyoA with the baculovirus/Sf9 cell expression system, which required a UCS (UNC-45/CRO1/She4p) family myosin chaperone from Plasmodium spp. In addition to the known light chain myosin tail interacting protein (MTIP), we identified an essential light chain (PfELC) that co-purified with PfMyoA isolated from parasite lysates. The speed at which PfMyoA moved actin was fastest with both light chains bound, consistent with the light chain-binding domain acting as a lever arm to amplify nucleotide-dependent motions in the motor domain. Surprisingly, PfELC binding to the heavy chain required that MTIP also be bound to the heavy chain, unlike MTIP that bound the heavy chain independently of PfELC. Neither the presence of calcium nor deletion of the MTIP N-terminal extension changed the speed of actin movement. Of note, PfMyoA moved filaments formed from Sf9 cell-expressed PfAct1 at the same speed as skeletal muscle actin. Duty ratio estimates suggested that as few as nine motors can power actin movement at maximal speed, a feature that may be necessitated by the dynamic nature of Plasmodium actin filaments in the parasite. In summary, we have reconstituted the essential core of the glideosome, enabling drug targeting of both of its core components to inhibit parasite invasion.

Fission yeast myosin Myo2 is down-regulated in actin affinity by light chain phosphorylation.

Studies in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe have provided the basis for the most advanced models of the dynamics of the cytokinetic contractile ring. Myo2, a class-II myosin, is the major source of tension in the contractile ring, but how Myo2 is anchored and regulated to produce force is poorly understood. To enable more detailed biochemical/biophysical studies, Myo2 was expressed in the baculovirus/Sf9 insect cell system with its two native light chains, Rlc1 and Cdc4. Milligram yields of soluble, unphosphorylated Myo2 were obtained that exhibited high actin-activated ATPase activity and in vitro actin filament motility. The fission yeast specific chaperone Rng3 was thus not required for expression or activity. In contrast to nonmuscle myosins from animal cells that require phosphorylation of the regulatory light chain for activation, phosphorylation of Rlc1 markedly reduced the affinity of Myo2 for actin. Another unusual feature of Myo2 was that, unlike class-II myosins, which generally form bipolar filamentous structures, Myo2 showed no inclination to self-assemble at approximately physiological salt concentrations, as analyzed by sedimentation velocity ultracentrifugation. This lack of assembly supports the hypothesis that clusters of Myo2 depend on interactions at the cell cortex in structural units called nodes for force production during cytokinesis.

Small teams of myosin Vc motors coordinate their stepping for efficient cargo transport on actin bundles.

Myosin Vc (myoVc) is unique among vertebrate class V myosin isoforms in that it requires teams of motors to move continuously on single actin filaments. Single molecules of myoVc cannot take multiple hand-over-hand steps from one actin-binding site to the next without dissociating, in stark contrast to the well studied myosin Va (myoVa) isoform. At low salt, single myoVc motors can, however, move processively on actin bundles, and at physiologic ionic strength, even teams of myoVc motors require actin bundles to sustain continuous motion. Here, we linked defined numbers of myoVc or myoVa molecules to DNA nanostructures as synthetic cargos. Using total internal reflectance fluorescence microscopy, we compared the stepping behavior of myoVc versus myoVa ensembles and myoVc stepping patterns on single actin filaments versus actin bundles. Run lengths of both myoVc and myoVa teams increased with motor number, but only multiple myoVc motors showed a run-length enhancement on actin bundles compared with actin filaments. By resolving the stepping behavior of individual myoVc motors with a quantum dot bound to the motor domain, we found that coupling of two myoVc motors significantly decreased the futile back and side steps that were frequently observed for single myoVc motors. Changes in the inter-motor distance between two coupled myoVc motors affected stepping dynamics, suggesting that mechanical tension coordinates the stepping behavior of two myoVc motors for efficient directional motion. Our study provides a molecular basis to explain how teams of myoVc motors are suited to transport cargos such as zymogen granules on actin bundles.

Myosin Vc Is Specialized for Transport on a Secretory Superhighway.

A hallmark of the well-studied vertebrate class Va myosin is its ability to take multiple steps on actin as a single molecule without dissociating, a feature called "processivity." Therefore, it was surprising when kinetic and single-molecule assays showed that human myosin Vc (MyoVc) was not processive on single-actin filaments [1-3]. We explored the possibility that MyoVc is processive only under conditions that resemble its biological context. Recently, it was shown that zymogen vesicles are transported on actin "superhighways" composed of parallel actin cables nucleated by formins from the plasma membrane [4]. Loss of these cables compromises orderly apical targeting of vesicles. MyoVc has been implicated in transporting secretory vesicles to the apical membrane [5]. We hypothesized that actin cables regulate the processive properties of MyoVc. We show that MyoVc is unique in taking variable size steps, which are frequently in the backward direction. Results obtained with chimeric constructs implicate the lever arm/rod of MyoVc as being responsible for these properties. Actin bundles allow single MyoVc motors to move processively. Remarkably, even teams of MyoVc motors require actin bundles to move continuously at physiological ionic strength. The irregular stepping pattern of MyoVc, which may result from flexibility in the lever arm/rod of MyoVc, appears to be a unique structural adaptation that allows the actin track to spatially restrict the activity of MyoVc to specialized actin cables in order to co-ordinate and target the final stages of vesicle secretion.

Tropomyosin isoforms bias actin track selection by vertebrate myosin Va.

Tropomyosin (Tpm) isoforms decorate actin with distinct spatial and temporal localization patterns in cells and thus may function to sort actomyosin processes by modifying the actin track affinity for specific myosin isoforms. We examined the effect of three Tpm isoforms on the ability of myosin Va (myoVa) to engage with actin in vitro in the absence or presence of the cargo adapter melanophilin (Mlph), which links myoVa to Rab27a-melanosomes for in vivo transport. We show that both the myosin motor domain and the cargo adapter Mlph, which has an actin-binding domain that acts as a tether, are sensitive to the Tpm isoform. Actin-Tpm3.1 and actin-Tpm1.8 were equal or better tracks compared to bare actin for myoVa-HMM based on event frequency, run length, and speed. The full-length myoVa-Mlph complex showed high-frequency engagement with actin-Tpm3.1 but not with actin-Tpm1.8. Actin-Tpm4.2 excluded both myoVa-HMM and full-length myoVa-Mlph from productive interactions. Of importance, Tpm3.1 is enriched in the dendritic protrusions and cortical actin of melanocytes, where myoVa-Mlph engages in melanosome transport. These results support the hypothesis that Tpm isoforms constitute an "actin-Tpm code" that allows for spatial and temporal sorting of actomyosin function in the cell.

Severe Molecular Defects Exhibited by the R179H Mutation in Human Vascular Smooth Muscle α-Actin.

Mutations in vascular smooth muscle α-actin (SM α-actin), encoded by ACTA2, are the most common cause of familial thoracic aortic aneurysms that lead to dissection (TAAD). The R179H mutation has a poor patient prognosis and is unique in causing multisystemic smooth muscle dysfunction (Milewicz, D. M., Østergaard, J. R., Ala-Kokko, L. M., Khan, N., Grange, D. K., Mendoza-Londono, R., Bradley, T. J., Olney, A. H., Ades, L., Maher, J. F., Guo, D., Buja, L. M., Kim, D., Hyland, J. C., and Regalado, E. S. (2010) Am. J. Med. Genet. A 152A, 2437-2443). Here, we characterize this mutation in expressed human SM α-actin. R179H actin shows severe polymerization defects, with a 40-fold higher critical concentration for assembly than WT SM α-actin, driven by a high disassembly rate. The mutant filaments are more readily severed by cofilin. Both defects are attenuated by copolymerization with WT. The R179H monomer binds more tightly to profilin, and formin binding suppresses nucleation and slows polymerization rates. Linear filaments will thus not be readily formed, and cells expressing R179H actin will likely have increased levels of monomeric G-actin. The cotranscription factor myocardin-related transcription factor-A, which affects cellular phenotype, binds R179H actin with less cooperativity than WT actin. Smooth muscle myosin moves R179H filaments more slowly than WT, even when copolymerized with equimolar amounts of WT. The marked decrease in the ability to form filaments may contribute to the poor patient prognosis and explain why R179H disrupts even visceral smooth muscle cell function where the SM α-actin isoform is present in low amounts. The R179H mutation has the potential to affect actin structure and function in both the contractile domain of the cell and the more dynamic cytoskeletal pool of actin, both of which are required for contraction.

A single-headed fission yeast myosin V transports actin in a tropomyosin-dependent manner.

Myo51, a class V myosin in fission yeast, localizes to and assists in the assembly of the contractile ring, a conserved eukaryotic actomyosin structure that facilitates cytokinesis. Rng8 and Rng9 are binding partners that dictate the cellular localization and function of Myo51. Myo51 was expressed in insect cells in the presence or absence of Rng8/9. Surprisingly, electron microscopy of negatively stained images and hydrodynamic measurements showed that Myo51 is single headed, unlike most class V myosins. When Myo51-Rng8/9 was bound to actin-tropomyosin, two attachment sites were observed: the typical ATP-dependent motor domain attachment and a novel ATP-independent binding of the tail mediated by Rng8/9. A modified motility assay showed that this additional binding site anchors Myo51-Rng8/9 so that it can cross-link and slide actin-tropomyosin filaments relative to one another, functions that may explain the role of this motor in contractile ring assembly.

More than just a cargo adapter, melanophilin prolongs and slows processive runs of myosin Va.

Myosin Va (myoVa) is a molecular motor that processively transports cargo along actin tracks. One well studied cargo in vivo is the melanosome, a pigment organelle that is moved first by kinesin on microtubules and then handed off to myoVa for transport in the actin-rich dendritic periphery of melanocytes. Melanophilin (Mlph) is the adapter protein that links Rab27a-melanosomes to myoVa. Using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and quantum dot-labeled full-length myoVa, we show at the single-molecule level that Mlph increases the number of processively moving myoVa motors by 17-fold. Surprisingly, myoVa-Mlph moves ~4-fold slower than myoVa alone and with twice the run length. These two changes greatly increase the time spent on actin, a property likely to enhance the transfer of melanosomes to the adjacent keratinocyte. In contrast to the variable stepping pattern of full-length myoVa, the myoVa-Mlph complex shows a normal gating pattern between the heads typical of a fully active motor and consistent with a cargo-dependent activation mechanism. The Mlph-dependent changes in myoVa depend on a positively charged cluster of amino acids in the actin binding domain of Mlph, suggesting that Mlph acts as a "tether" that links the motor to the track. Our results provide a molecular explanation for the uncharacteristically slow speed of melanosome movement by myoVa in vivo. More generally, these data show that proteins that link motors to cargo can modify motor properties to enhance their biological role.

Tropomyosin is essential for processive movement of a class V myosin from budding yeast.

Myosin V is an actin-based motor protein involved in intracellular cargo transport [1]. Given this physiological role, it was widely assumed that all class V myosins are processive, able to take multiple steps along actin filaments without dissociating. This notion was challenged when several class V myosins were characterized as nonprocessive in vitro, including Myo2p, the essential class V myosin from S. cerevisiae [2-6]. Myo2p moves cargo including secretory vesicles and other organelles for several microns along actin cables in vivo. This demonstrated cargo transporter must therefore either operate in small ensembles or behave processively in the cellular context. Here we show that Myo2p moves processively in vitro as a single motor when it walks on an actin track that more closely resembles the actin cables found in vivo. The key to processivity is tropomyosin: Myo2p is not processive on bare actin but highly processive on actin-tropomyosin. The major yeast tropomyosin isoform, Tpm1p, supports the most robust processivity. Tropomyosin slows the rate of MgADP release, thus increasing the time the motor spends strongly attached to actin. This is the first example of tropomyosin switching a motor from nonprocessive to processive motion on actin.

Collective dynamics of elastically coupled myosin V motors.

Characterization of the collective behaviors of different classes of processive motor proteins has become increasingly important to understand various intracellular trafficking and transport processes. This work examines the dynamics of structurally-defined motor complexes containing two myosin Va (myoVa) motors that are linked together via a molecular scaffold formed from a single duplex of DNA. Dynamic changes in the filament-bound configuration of these complexes due to motor binding, stepping, and detachment were monitored by tracking the positions of different color quantum dots that report the position of one head of each myoVa motor on actin. As in studies of multiple kinesins, the run lengths produced by two myosins are only slightly larger than those of single motor molecules. This suggests that internal strain within the complexes, due to asynchronous motor stepping and the resultant stretching of motor linkages, yields net negative cooperative behaviors. In contrast to multiple kinesins, multiple myosin complexes move with appreciably lower velocities than a single-myosin molecule. Although similar trends are predicted by a discrete state stochastic model of collective motor dynamics, these analyses also suggest that multiple myosin velocities and run lengths depend on both the compliance and the effective size of their cargo. Moreover, it is proposed that this unique collective behavior occurs because the large step size and relatively small stalling force of myoVa leads to a high sensitivity of motor stepping rates to strain.

Full-length myosin Va exhibits altered gating during processive movement on actin.

Myosin Va (myoV) is a processive molecular motor that transports intracellular cargo along actin tracks with each head taking multiple 72-nm hand-over-hand steps. This stepping behavior was observed with a constitutively active, truncated myoV, in which the autoinhibitory interactions between the globular tail and motor domains (i.e., heads) that regulate the full-length molecule no longer exist. Without cargo at near physiologic ionic strength (100 mM KCl), full-length myoV adopts a folded (approximately 15 S), enzymatically-inhibited state that unfolds to an extended (approximately 11 S), active conformation at higher salt (250 mM). Under conditions favoring the folded, inhibited state, we show that Quantum-dot-labeled myoV exhibits two types of interaction with actin in the presence of MgATP. Most motors bind to actin and remain stationary, but surprisingly, approximately 20% are processive. The moving motors transition between a strictly gated and hand-over-hand stepping pattern typical of a constitutively active motor, and a new mode with a highly variable stepping pattern suggestive of altered gating. Each head of this partially inhibited motor takes longer-lived, short forward (35 nm) and backward (28 nm) steps, presumably due to globular tail-head interactions that modify the gating of the individual heads. This unique mechanical state may be an intermediate in the pathway between the inhibited and active states of the motor.

Two single-headed myosin V motors bound to a tetrameric adapter protein form a processive complex.

Myo4p, one of two class V myosins in budding yeast, continuously transports messenger RNA (mRNA) cargo in the cell but is nonprocessive when characterized in vitro. The adapter protein She3p tightly binds to the Myo4p rod, forming a single-headed motor complex. In this paper, we show that two Myo4p-She3p motors are recruited by the tetrameric mRNA-binding protein She2p to form a processive double-headed complex. The binding site for She3p was mapped to a single α helix that protrudes at right angles from She2p. Processive runs of several micrometers on yeast actin-tropomyosin filaments were observed only in the presence of She2p, and, thus, motor activity is regulated by cargo binding. While moving processively, each head steps ~72 nm in a hand-over-hand motion. Coupling two high-duty cycle monomeric motors via a common cargo-binding adapter protein creates a complex with transport properties comparable with a single dimeric processive motor such as vertebrate myosin Va.

A nonprocessive class V myosin drives cargo processively when a kinesin- related protein is a passenger.

During secretory events, kinesin transports cargo along microtubules and then shifts control to myosin V for delivery on actin filaments to the cell membrane [1]. When kinesin and myosin V are present on the same cargo, kinesin interacts electrostatically with actin to enhance myosin V-based transport in vitro [2]. The relevance of this observation within the cell was questioned. In budding yeast, overexpression of a kinesin-family protein (Smy1p) suppressed a transport defect in a strain with a mutant class V myosin (Myo2p) [3]. We postulate that this is a cellular manifestation of the in vitro observation. We demonstrate that Smy1p binds electrostatically to actin bundles. Although a single Myo2p cannot transport cargo along actin bundles, addition of Smy1p causes the complex to undergo long-range, continuous movement. We propose that the kinesin-family protein acts as a tether that prevents cargo dissociation from actin, allowing the myosin to take many steps before dissociating. We demonstrate that both the tether and the motor reside on moving secretory vesicles in yeast cells, a necessary feature for this mechanism to apply in vivo. The presence of both kinesin and myosin on the same cargo may be a general mechanism to enhance cellular transport in yeast and higher organisms.

She3p binds to the rod of yeast myosin V and prevents it from dimerizing, forming a single-headed motor complex.

Vertebrate myosin Va is a dimeric processive motor that walks on actin filaments to deliver cargo. In contrast, the two class V myosins in budding yeast, Myo2p and Myo4p, are non-processive (Reck-Peterson, S. L., Tyska, M. J., Novick, P. J., and Mooseker, M. S. (2001) J. Cell Biol. 153, 1121-1126). We previously showed that a chimera with the motor domain of Myo4p on the backbone of vertebrate myosin Va was processive, demonstrating that the Myo4p motor domain has a high duty ratio. Here we examine the properties of a chimera containing the rod and globular tail of Myo4p joined to the motor domain and neck of mouse myosin Va. Surprisingly, the adaptor protein She3p binds to the rod region of Myo4p and forms a homogeneous single-headed myosin-She3p complex, based on sedimentation equilibrium and velocity data. We propose that She3p forms a heterocoiled-coil with Myo4p and is a subunit of the motor. She3p does not affect the maximal actin-activated ATPase in solution or the velocity of movement in an ensemble in vitro motility assay. At the single molecule level, the monomeric myosin-She3p complex showed no processivity. When this construct was dimerized with a leucine zipper, short processive runs were obtained. Robust continuous movement was observed when multiple monomeric myosin-She3p motors were bound to a quantum dot "cargo." We propose that continuous transport of mRNA by Myo4p-She3p in yeast is accomplished either by multiple high duty cycle monomers or by molecules that may be dimerized by She2p, the homodimeric downstream binding partner of She3p.

Engineering the processive run length of Myosin V.

The processive motor myosin V has a high affinity for actin in the weak binding states when compared with non-processive myosins. Here we test whether this feature is essential for myosin V to walk processively along an actin filament. The net charge of loop 2, a surface loop implicated in the initial weak binding between myosin and actin, was increased or decreased to correspondingly change the affinity of myosin V for actin in the weak binding state, without changing the velocity of movement. Processive run lengths of single molecules were determined by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. Reducing the net positive charge of loop 2 significantly decreased both the affinity of myosin V for actin and the processive run length. Conversely, the addition of positive charge to loop 2 increased actin affinity and processive run length. We hypothesize that a high affinity for actin allows the detached head of a stepping myosin V to find its next actin binding site more quickly, thus decreasing the probability of run termination.