Effect of Cargo-Motor Dissociation on transport properties of molecular motor ensemble: A Semi-Analytical Approach

Identifying the key factors that affect the transport of a cargo by multiple molecular motors help understand the underlying mechanism of several neurodegenerative diseases arising from defects in motor transport. We hypothesize that the cargo-motor dissociation rate significantly impacts cargo transport by ensembles of molecular motor. To investigate the same, we develop a Markov-chain based simulation strategy, which assumes the number of motors on the cargo to be a stochastic quantity. Motors attach and detach from the cargo with certain rates, in addition to stepping, attaching, and detaching on/or from cytoskeletal tracks. These rates, along with the maximal number of motors possible on a cargo, are varied, and their effect is observed on transport quantities like average run lengths, average velocities, and average number of motors engaged in carrying the cargo. The results are compared with and contrasted against studies which assume a fixed number of motors on the cargo and are used to obtain better insights about experimental findings. Preliminary results show that probability of dissociation has a significant impact on run lengths, with a twofold decrease in average run lengths for a 5-fold increase in probability of dissociation of motor from the cargo.