title: The design plan of kinesin motors.
abstract: The kinesin superfamily comprises a large and structurally diverse group of microtubule-based motor proteins that produce a variety of force-generating activities within cells. This review addresses how the structures of kinesin proteins provide clues as to their biological functions and motile properties. We discuss structural features common to all kinesin motors, as well as specialized features that enable subfamilies of related motors to carry out specialized activities. We also discuss how the kinesin motor domain uses chemical energy from ATP hydrolysis to move along microtubules.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA. vale@phy.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Vale
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Fletterick
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016547:Kinesins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D016547:Kinesins