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Kinesin sticks its neck out

Nature Cell Biology volume 2, pages E15–E16 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Dimers of the molecular motor kinesin can ‘walk’ along microtubules. A flexible neck connects the head of one kinesin of the dimer to its partner. When one head is bound to a microtubule, and when this head’s neck ‘linker’ becomes fixed temporarily, pointing towards the next binding site on the microtubule, the partner head is prompted to move forwards.

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Figure 1: How monomeric and dimeric kinesin may move.
Figure 2: Gold labels, visualized by electron cryomicroscopy3, mark three possible positions for the neck linker of kinesin heads bound to microtubules.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge , CB2 2QH, UK

    Linda A. Amos

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  1. Linda A. Amos
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Amos, L. Kinesin sticks its neck out. Nat Cell Biol 2, E15–E16 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/71400

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