Lab
Akira Kakugo's Lab
Institution: Kyoto University
Department: Department of Physics I
About the lab
Our lab is working on the construction of autonomous molecular robots and artificial muscle based on the biomolecular motor system and DNA nanotechnology. Get insight into the mechanical properties of the biomolecular shuttle is another interest of ours.
Featured research (17)
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in engineering dynamic and autonomous systems with robotic functionalities using biomolecules. Specifically, the ability of molecular motors to convert chemical energy to mechanical forces and the programmability of DNA are regarded as promising components for these systems. However, current systems rely on the manual addition of external stimuli, limiting the potential for autonomous molecular systems. Here, we show that DNA-based cascade reactions can act as a molecular controller that drives the autonomous assembly and disassembly of DNA-functionalized microtubules propelled by kinesins. The DNA controller is designed to produce two different DNA strands that program the interaction between the microtubules. The gliding microtubules integrated with the controller autonomously assemble to bundle-like structures and disassemble into discrete filaments without external stimuli, which is observable by fluorescence microscopy. We believe this approach to be a starting point toward more autonomous behavior of motor protein–based multicomponent systems with robotic functionalities.
Biomolecular motor-based micro-sized robots have recently created an innovation in the field of science and technology as molecular transporters. Groups of these tiny robots can work substantially better than individual ones in terms of the transported distance and number or size of cargo. Site-specific molecular delivery, the main feature of these robots, has helped to improve the workability of robots in a more controllable manner.
Biomolecular motor (microtubule (MT)-kinesin) based molecular swarm robots are important due to their applications in cooperative task achievements, while the structural details are still unknown. In this work, high-speed atomic force microscopy was used to observe the MT swarm ring structure at nanometer-level resolution. MTs were observed to pile up in multiple layers to form swarm rings. The number of MTs involved in force generation was estimated which will specifically impact the understanding of the force-generation capability of swarms.
We report the swarming of microtubules driven by the biomolecular motor kinesin and dissociation of microtubule swarms under UV and visible light irradiation, respectively. We introduced para tert-butyl-substituted azobenzene, a photoresponsive molecule, to the backbone of single strand DNA, which functions as a photoswitch. Due to the photoswitch, the swarming of DNA-conjugated microtubules was controlled and reversible regulation of microtubule swarming was achieved in a repeated manner upon alternate irradiation with UV and visible light. This reversible swarming of microtubules could provide new opportunities for designing complex swarming systems with the ability of multitasking, expediting the development of molecular machines. We demonstrated biomolecular motors driven swarming of microtubules and their dissociation under UV and visible light irradiation, respectively. A photoresponsive molecule, para tert-butyl-substituted azobenzene was incorporated to the backbone of single strand DNA, which functions as a photoswitch to control the swarming of microtubules in a reversible manner. This work is expected to expand the potential applications of biomolecular motors in developing photoregulated molecular machines.