title: Myosins from plants.
abstract: Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of myosin genes from Arabidopsis thaliana and electron microscopic observation of a myosin from characean alga have revealed that overall structure of plant unconventional myosins is similar to that of the class V myosins. These plant unconventional myosins have two heads, a coiled-coil tail of varied length and a globular tail piece at the end. The tail piece is probably a site for membrane interaction. Characean myosin is of special interest because it can translocate actin filaments at a velocity several times faster than muscle myosin, which must have evolved to support the quick movement of animals in the struggle for their lives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiba University, Japan. yamamoto@bio.s.chiba-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kashiyama
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009218:Myosins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D009218:Myosins