Force-velocity relationships in kinesin-driven motility.

Kinesin is a microtubule-based motor protein that uses energy released from Mg-ATP hydrolysis to generate force for the movement of intracellular membranes towards the fast-growing (plus) ends of microtubule tracks in cells. Kinesin-driven microtubule movement can be visualized and quantified using light microscope motility assays but our understanding of how kinesin generates force and motion is incomplete. Here we report the use of a centrifuge microscope to obtain force-velocity curves for kinesin-driven motility and to estimate that the maximal isometric force generated per kinesin is 0.12 +/- 0.03 pN per molecule.