News and Views abstract
Nature Cell Biology 1, E119 - E121 (1999)
doi:10.1038/12947
Kinesin: the tail unfolds
Robert Cross1 & Jonathan Scholey2
- Robert Cross is at the Molecular Motors Group, Marie Curie Research Institute, The Chart, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0TL, UK.
- Jonathan Scholey is in the Section of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
Correspondence to: Jonathan Scholey2 e-mail: jmscholey@ucdavis.edu
Abstract
The cargo-binding tail of the motor protein kinesin acts as a regulator of kinesin-driven vesicle transport. In the absence of bound cargo, the kinesin tail interacts with the motor domains and inhibits their activity. Cargo binding blocks this interaction and relieves the inhibition.
