Master Equation Approach to Molecular Motors

A master equation approach to molecular motors allows to describe a mechano-chemical cyclic system where chemical and translational degrees of freedom are treated on an equal footing. A generalized detailed balance condition in the out of equilibrium regime is shown to be compatible with the Fokker-Planck equation in the continuum limit. The Onsager reciprocity relations hold for stationary states close to equilibrium, provided the generalized detailed balance condition is satisfied. Semi-phenomenological considerations in the case of motor proteins lead to a discrete kinetics model, for which interesting observable quantities can be directly calculated and compared with experimental data.