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Identification of globular mechanochemical heads of kinesin

Nature volume 338, pages 355–357 (1989)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 20 April 1989

Abstract

KINESIN is a mechanoenzyme which uses energy liberated from ATP hydrolysis to transport particles towards the 'plus ends' of microtubules1–6. The enzyme consists of two polypeptide heavy chains of relative molecular mass (Mr) ≈ 110,000–140,000 (110K–140K) plus copurifying light chains; these polypeptides are arranged in a structure consisting of two globular heads attached to a fibrous stalk which terminates in a 'feathered' tail7–11. Here we report that a function-disrupting monoclonal antikinesin, which binds to the 45K fragment of the kinesin heavy chain12,13, recognizes an epitope located towards the N-terminal end of the heavy chain, and decorates the two globular heads lying at one end of the intact molecules (one antibody per head). The results show that the two heavy chains of native kinesin are arranged in parallel, and that the 45K fragments, which display nucleotide-sensitive interactions with microtubules12,13, represent mechanochemical 'heads' located at the N-terminal regions of the heavy chains. Thus, it is likely that the kinesin heads are analogous to the subfragment-1 domains of myosin.

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Author notes

  1. Jonathan M. Scholey

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of California at Davis, Davis, California, 95616, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine, Denver, Colorado, 80206, USA

    Jonathan M. Scholey

  2. Department of Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, 63110, USA

    John Heuser

  3. Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    Joy T. Yang & Lawrence S. B. Goldstein

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  1. Jonathan M. Scholey
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  2. John Heuser
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  3. Joy T. Yang
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  4. Lawrence S. B. Goldstein
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Scholey, J., Heuser, J., Yang, J. et al. Identification of globular mechanochemical heads of kinesin. Nature 338, 355–357 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/338355a0

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