TY - JOUR TI - Kinesin and dynein use distinct mechanisms to bypass obstacles AU - Ferro, Luke S AU - Can, Sinan AU - Turner, Meghan A AU - ElShenawy, Mohamed M AU - Yildiz, Ahmet A2 - Surrey, Thomas A2 - Malhotra, Vivek A2 - Cross, Robert Anthony VL - 8 PY - 2019 DA - 2019/09/09 SP - e48629 C1 - eLife 2019;8:e48629 DO - 10.7554/eLife.48629 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.48629 AB - Kinesin-1 and cytoplasmic dynein are microtubule (MT) motors that transport intracellular cargoes. It remains unclear how these motors move along MTs densely coated with obstacles of various sizes in the cytoplasm. Here, we tested the ability of single and multiple motors to bypass synthetic obstacles on MTs in vitro. Contrary to previous reports, we found that single mammalian dynein is highly capable of bypassing obstacles. Single human kinesin-1 motors fail to avoid obstacles, consistent with their inability to take sideways steps on to neighboring MT protofilaments. Kinesins overcome this limitation when working in teams, bypassing obstacles as effectively as multiple dyneins. Cargos driven by multiple kinesins or dyneins are also capable of rotating around the MT to bypass large obstacles. These results suggest that multiplicity of motors is required not only for transporting cargos over long distances and generating higher forces, but also for maneuvering cargos on obstacle-coated MT surfaces. KW - kinesin KW - dynein KW - intracellular transport JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -