Opposing kinesin-2 and dynein-1b motors drive IFT bidirectionally along microtubules. Using cryo-electron tomography, Jordan et al. uncover mechanisms of dynein-1 inhibition to promote unidirectional IFT to the ciliary tip.

Microtubules (MT) form higher-order structures such as asters, but the molecular pathway underlying aster formation remains unclear. Here authors demonstrate that the kinesin-14, HSET, clusters with soluble (nonMT) tubulin via its N-terminal tail domain and thereby promotes MT aster formation.

Reconstitution of a functional intraflagellar transport complex in Caenorhabditis elegans provides insight into the recruitment and activation of the kinesin-2 motor protein.

Kinesin-13s are microtubule depolymerases that lack motile activity. Here the authors present the cryo-EM structures of kinesin-13 microtubule complexes in different nucleotide bound states, which reveal how ATP hydrolysis is linked to conformational changes and propose a model for kinesin induced depolymerisation.

Cytokinesis relies on central spindle organization and provides a spatial landmark for lumen formation. Here, the authors show that intraflagellar transport proteins are required for the localization of the cytokinetic regulator Aurora B and subsequent cleavage furrow ingression and lumen positioning.