title: A torque component present in mitotic kinesin Eg5 revealed by three-dimensional tracking.
abstract: Mitotic kinesin Eg5 is a homotetrameric molecular motor that cross-links and slides microtubules. The extent to which Eg5 moves processively is not clear. Here we use three-dimensional tracking of a quantum dot attached to the microtubule in a motility assay to directly visualize the corkscrew motion of a sliding microtubule. We show that the rotational pitch of microtubule sliding conveniently reports on the processivity of the driving motors, confirming that two-headed Eg5 is much less processive than two-headed kinesin-1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Gakushuin University, 1-5-1 Mejiro, Toshima-ku, 171-8588 Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Junichiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yajima
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizutani
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishizaka
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D016547:Kinesins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism; D008938:Mitosis; D012399:Rotation; D019415:Torque
chemical_list: C470243:KIF11 protein, human; D016547:Kinesins