Question

How do motor proteins bind to their tracks and change conformation? What powers this conformational change and how is that important in their function?

Answer 1

Motor proteins bind to their tracks( microtubule filaments) by ATP( Adenosine triphosphate) hydrolysis that cause conformational change in it . It's the ATP that drives the motor proteins to deliver the cargo intracellularly. Motor proteins are myosin,dyneins and kinesins.

ATP hydrolysis breaks the bridging between myosin and actin that leads to sarcomere contraction and the muscle.

Kinesin have special role in mitotic and meiotic spindle formation and chromosome segregation also requires ATP.