First example of communication in coupled molecular motors

For the first time, researchers have observed communication between the rotors in a molecular motor. Although the exact mechanism is still a mystery, communicating components could convey complex and controlled movements to molecular machines, better mimicking biological systems.

In molecular motors, external stimuli such as light or heat activate movement. In structures with different rotors, usually each rotation operated independently, however here, ‘[we] show that the rotors have a profound impact on each other’, explains first author Carlijn van Beek, who works in the laboratory of Ben Feringa at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. The communication between the components affects the behaviour of the overall structure . ‘It’s similar to macroscopic gears, [within] a small molecular system,’ says van Beek. ‘The motor [behaves] as two motorised gears – the two rotors – connected via a third gear, the motor core unit.’