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Evolution of research on cellular motility over five decades

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Abstract

This short review traces how our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of cellular movements originated and developed over the past 50 years. Work on actin-based and microtubule-based movements developed in different ways, but in both fields, the discovery of the key proteins drove progress. Starting from an inventory of zero molecules in 1960, both fields matured spectacularly, so we now know the atomic structures of the important proteins, understand the kinetics and thermodynamics of their interactions, have documented how the molecules behave in cells, and can test theories with molecularly explicit computer simulations of cellular processes.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks Laurent Blanchoin, Enrique De La Cruz, and Mike Ostap for organizing this volume.

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  1. Departments of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208103, New Haven, CT, 06520-8103, USA

    Thomas D. Pollard

  2. Departments of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, PO Box 208103, New Haven, CT, 06520-8103, USA

    Thomas D. Pollard

  3. Department of Cell Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208103, New Haven, CT, 06520-8103, USA

    Thomas D. Pollard

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Research in the author’s laboratory has been supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01GM026132 and R01GM026338. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Thomas D. Pollard declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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Pollard, T.D. Evolution of research on cellular motility over five decades. Biophys Rev 10, 1503–1508 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-018-0473-9

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