High impact information on kinesins

• We propose that kinesin II is a "canonical" IFT motor, whereas OSM-3 is an "accessory" IFT motor, and that subtle changes in the deployment or actions of these IFT kinesins can contribute to differences in cilia morphology, cilia function, and sensory perception [1].
• Molecular cloning and expression of the Caenorhabditis elegans klp-3, an ortholog of C terminus motor kinesins Kar3 and ncd [2].
• Common to all eukaryotes, kinesins are cytoskeletal motor proteins that mediate intracellular transport on microtubule tracks, using ATP hydrolysis [2].
• Twenty kinesins have been found in the Caenorhabditis elegans genome, and four of these belong to the kinesin-14 subfamily, i.e., kinesins with C-terminal motor domains [3].
• Kinesins form a superfamily of molecular motors involved in cell division and intracellular transport [3].

Biological context of kinesins

• Based on motor domain sequence homology and placement of the motor domain in the protein, the C. elegans kinesins have been placed in eight distinct groups; members of which participate in embryonic development, protein transport, synaptic membrane vesicles movement and in the axonal growth [4].

Other interactions of kinesins

• Here we report cDNA cloning of klp-15 and klp-16, and the expression pattern of the genes encoding C-terminal motor kinesins including klp-15 and klp-16 [5].

References