title: The C-terminus of kinesin-14 Ncd is a crucial component of the force generating mechanism.
abstract: Ncd, a member of kinesin-14 family motors, uses the power stroke, a lever-like pivoting action of a long and stiff element, to exert force and generate movement. To better understand the role of the Ncd C-terminus in this process we produced four Ncd mutants in which this segment was altered or deleted. For these proteins we measured their affinity to the microtubule, steady-state ATPase and gliding velocity in multiple motor assays. The mutations had a dramatic effect on all three parameters measured, suggesting that the C-terminal residues of Ncd play an important role in modulating the interaction of the motor with the microtubule.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Szczęsna
authors.forename: Andrzej A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kasprzak
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016547:Kinesins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008870:Microtubules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C066696:ncd protein, Drosophila; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D016547:Kinesins