The Kinesin-13 Family are a subfamily of motor proteins known as kinesins. Most kinesins transport materials or cargo around the cell while traversing along

microtubule Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form part of the cytoskeleton and provide structure and shape to eukaryotic cells. Microtubules can be as long as 50 micrometres, as wide as 23 to 27 nm and have an inner diameter between 11 an ...

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

tracks with the help of ATP-hydrolysis-created energy.

Structure

They are easily identified by their three typical structural components including a highly conserved structural domain, catalytic core, and microtubule binding sites. The kinesin-13 family, unlike other kinesins, has an internally positioned motor domain. They were initially named KIF-M because of the unique location of their catalytic core in the middle of the

polypeptide Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. A p ...

between the

N-terminal The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the ami ...

globular domain and the C-terminal stalk but they are truly special due to their versatile nature. The Kinesin-13 family's molecular mechanism is less understood than other classes of kinesins which have their motor domains at one end of the molecule or the other. They are capable of traveling to both the minus and plus ends of

microtubules Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form part of the cytoskeleton and provide structure and shape to eukaryotic cells. Microtubules can be as long as 50 micrometres, as wide as 23 to 27 nm and have an inner diameter between 11 an ...

whereas most motors are unidirectional. Thus they can catalytically depolymerize a microtubule from both ends making it a very efficient process. The exact mechanism of Kinesin-13 activated microtubule depolymerization remains unclear, however, recent biochemical and structural studies revealed some more detailed class specific features enabling researchers to formulate a model.) The protein first contacts the side wall of a microtubule. This is not a stable interaction because the convex surface of the catalytic core does not fit to the flat surface of the straight microtubule

protofilament Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form part of the cytoskeleton and provide structure and shape to eukaryotic cells. Microtubules can be as long as 50 micrometres, as wide as 23 to 27 nanometer, nm and have an inner diameter bet ...

. Steric hindrance between the molecule neck and adjacent protofilament further inhibits full contact between protein and the microtubule and only facilitates one-dimensional

diffusion Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...

along the microtubule. At this time, The protein's

nucleotide binding pocket Nucleotides are organic molecules consisting of a nucleoside and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which are essential biomolecules w ...

is trapped in an open state so that the structure is not hydrolyzing ATP. Once the motor reaches the end of the microtubule, the protofilament spontaneously curves itself allowing motor to make full contact with the tubulin

subunit Subunit may refer to: *Subunit HIV vaccine, a class of HIV vaccine *Protein subunit, a protein molecule that assembles with other protein molecules *Monomer, a molecule that may bind chemically to other molecules to form a polymer *Sub-subunit, a ...

. More MCAK molecules collectively bind to the curved region supporting the theory that they do not actively peel away the microtubule but they wait patiently for it to adopt this curved conformation. They stabilize the curved conformation by binding to the end of the microtubule and then catalyze depolymerization.

Functions during mitosis

The major function of mitosis is to separate replicated

sister chromatids A sister chromatid refers to the identical copies (chromatids) formed by the DNA replication of a chromosome, with both copies joined together by a common centromere. In other words, a sister chromatid may also be said to be 'one-half' of the dup ...

, and this is accomplished in part during anaphase A when "kinetochore microtubules (or kMTs)" that link the sister chromatids to opposite spindle poles shorten by depolymerization, exerting forces on the chromatids that pull them to the poles. In ''

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...

'' there is evidence that sister chromatids are moved to opposite spindle poles by a "kinesin-13 dependent pacman-flux mechanism" in which one kinesin-13 isoform, KLP59c, localized to kinetochores facilitates the depolymerization of the end of the kMTs facing the chromatid (pacman), whereas a second kinesin-13 isoform, KLP10A, localized on the spindle poles facilitates the depolymerization of the opposite end of the kMTs facing the poles (flux)

References

External links

Video Illustrations
{Dead link, date=February 2020 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Motor proteins

Structure

Functions during mitosis

See also

References

External links