Kinesin-5: an essential mitotic kinesin
The mitotic spindle is a multi-component molecular machine with the job of ensuring faithful chromosome segregation during cell division. Microtubules are key structural elements of the spindle and their architecture and dynamics are controlled by teams of kinesin motors. Kinesin-5 family members are essential components of the spindle and are required to generate and maintain the spindle's bipolar architecture. We are interested in examining the way kinesin-5 uses the energy of ATP when bound to microtubules in performing its functions during mitosis. Recent work by Andrew Bodey (Bodey et al, 2009) allowed us to visualise the kinesin-5-ATP-like microtubule-bound state at 9A resolution. In this structure we could see the secondary structure of the ATP- and MT-binding components of kinesin-5 and identified a novel conformation of the kinesin-5 specific drug-binding loop.
Carolyn presented our work on kinesin-5s as part of Birkbeck Science Week, 2012
See also the Principles of Protein Structure blog
Kanwal Zehra and Adeline Goulet are working on this project
Ruby Helix Documentation
Publications
Loop L5 acts as a conformational latch in the mitotic kinesin Eg5. Behnke-Parks WM, Vendomme J, Honig B, Maliga Z, Moores C, Rosenfeld SS (2011) J. Biol. Chem. 286, 5242-5253
Kinesin-5 mitotic motors: Is loop5 the on/off switch? Moores CA (2010) Cell Cycle. 9, 1234
9-Angstrom structure of a microtubule-bound mitotic motor. Bodey AJ, Kikkawa M, Moores CA (2009) J. Mol. Biol. 388, 218-24
Collaborators
Professor Rob Cross (Warwick University, UK)
Dr Sunyoung Kim and Dr Ed Wojcik (Louisiana State University, USA)
Dr Sarah Rice (Northwestern University Chicago, USA)
Professor Steve Rosenfeld (Cleveland Clinic Ohio, USA)
Dr Charles Sindelar (Yale University New Haven, USA)
Supported by
