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dynein

dynein

1 9.9
A protein that moves cell parts and materials along tiny tubes inside cells
  • noun
  • /ˈdaɪniːn/
  • Specialized
: dineína
  • Dynein is essential for moving materials inside cells along microtubules.

Examples

  • And you should know the molecule involved there, you know kinesin and dynein, OK, for the two directions of transport.

  • The dynein motor protein transports cellular cargo from the periphery back to the cell body.

  • Electron microscopy in combination with improved biochemical techniques was used to demonstrate the localization of ATPase activity in dynein arms.

    Academic text (1999)
  • (n9) Dynein, an ATPase protein, uses ATP energy to perform the cyclical reshaping that produces active sliding movements.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In cilia and flagella, dynein helps generate movement by sliding adjacent microtubules.

Synonyms

kinesin
vsdynein
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A protein that carries small parts inside a cell along tiny tube-like tracks

enables broader cellular movements such as cilia or flagella motion as well as transport

Surface Forms

dynein singular
dyneins plural

Morphology

dynein = dyne (opaque) = dyne + in

Although morphologically dyne + the protein suffix '-in', the sense 'motor protein' is not derivable by an average learner from the unit 'dyne'.

Etymology

Dynein comes from the Greek root dynamis and dyn-, which mean 'power' or 'force', and is the same root you see in dynamic and dynamo. It is a protein that works like a tiny motor inside cells to move parts, so the name points to its 'power' to cause movement.