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.