JB Reflections and Perspectives |
Yuji Tonomura: A Pioneer in the Field of Energy Transduction in Muscle Contraction
ERATO ‘Maéda Actin-Filament Dynamics’ Project, Japan Science and Technology Agency, c/o RIKEN Harima Institute at Spring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +81-791-58-1350; Fax: +81-791-58-1360; E-mail: honishi{at}spring8.or.jp; onishi.hirofumi{at}h.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp
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Abstract |
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Late Professor Yuji Tonomura has made a great contribution in the study of energy transduction in muscle contraction. He was the investigator who first proposed that a myosin–phosphate intermediate is produced subsequently to the Michaelis–Menten complex in the pre-steady state of the myosin ATPase reaction and that it is a key intermediate for muscle contraction. Here, his proposed intermediate will be viewed from the prospective of today's understanding of actomyosin ATPase kinetics and in the context of myosin motor domain crystal structures.
Key Words: actomyosin, ATP hydrolysis, initial burst of Pi liberation, muscle contraction, myosin
Abbreviations: NTP, p-nitrothiophenol; TCA, trichloroacetic acid
Present address: The Structural Biology Research Center and Division of Biological Science, Nagoya University, Graduate School of Sciences, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601 Japan. 1The C-terminal segment of the motor domain (colored blue in Fig. 3) is called the converter, because it converts linear displacement of the relay helix (colored orange in Fig. 3) into its rotation (arrow in Fig. 3).