Masaki Nakagawa, a first-year master’s student in the Department of Complexity Science and Engineering, received the Poster Award at the 15th Molecular motor discussion workshop, held from September 10 to 11 at the Izusan Learning Center in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Award Recipient: Masaki Nakagawa (Supervisor: Professor Kumiko Hayashi)
Presentation Title: Measurement of Stall Extension of Kinesin by Bayesian Analysis of Coiled DNA Spring Images
Venue: Izusan Learning Center, Shizuoka Prefecture

KIF1A, a member of the kinesin superfamily, is a motor protein responsible for axonal transport in neurons. Mutations in the KIF1A gene are associated with KIF1A-Associated Neurological Disorder (KAND).

In previous study conducted by the Hayashi Laboratory, extremely small forces generated by KIF1A variants associated with KAND were successfully measured using coiled springs fabricated by DNA origami (nanosprings). The coiled DNA springs are fluorescently labeled, and their length is estimated from fluorescence microscopy images. The estimated length is then converted into a force value using the known force-extension relationship of the spring.

In this study, we developed a method for analyzing fluorescence microscopy images using Bayesian estimation to achieve more accurate measurements of the spring length. This method is expected to enable more precise measurement of the extremely small forces generated by the KIF1A variants.

Award Recipient’s Comment:
I am honored to receive this award in recognition of our research. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Kumiko Hayashi for her  guidance throughout this research. I would also like to thank our collaborators and everyone in the laboratory for their valuable advice and support, as well as all the conference participants who provided valuable insights through the discussions.

I am encouraged by this award and will continue to work to advance this research toward a better understanding of KIF1A-associated neurological disorder (KAND) through elucidating the mechanical properties of molecular motors.