Dynamic instability of collective myosin II motors

Some kinds of muscles can oscillate spontaneously, which is related to the dynamic instability of the collective motors. Based on the two-state ratchet model and with consideration of the motor stiffness, the dynamics of collective myosin II motors are studied. It is shown that when the motor stiffness is small, the velocity of the collective motors decreases monotonically with load increasing. When the motor stiffness becomes large, dynamic instability appears in the force–velocity relationship of the collective-motor transport. For a large enough motor stiffness, the zero-velocity point lies in the unstable range of the force–velocity curve, and the motor system becomes unstable before the motion is stopped, so spontaneous oscillations can be generated if the system is elastically coupled to its environment via a spring. The oscillation frequency is related to the motor stiffness, motor binding rate, spring stiffness, and the width of the ATP excitation interval. For a medium motor stiffness, the zero-velocity point lies outside the unstable range of the force–velocity curve, and the motion will be stopped before the instability occurs. (paper)