The Caenorhabditis elegans Kinesin-3 motor UNC-104/KIF1A is degraded upon loss of specific binding to cargo.

ABSTRACT: UNC-104/KIF1A is a Kinesin-3 motor that transports synaptic vesicles from the cell body towards the synapse by binding to PI(4,5)P(2) through its PH domain. The fate of the motor upon reaching the synapse is not known. We found that wild-type UNC-104 is degraded at synaptic regions through the ubiquitin pathway and is not retrogradely transported back to the cell body. As a possible means to regulate the motor, we tested the effect of cargo binding on UNC-104 levels. The unc-104(e1265) allele carries a point mutation (D1497N) in the PI(4,5)P(2) binding pocket of the PH domain, resulting in greatly reduced preferential binding to PI(4,5)P(2)in vitro and presence of very few motors on pre-synaptic vesicles in vivo. unc-104(e1265) animals have poor locomotion irrespective of in vivo PI(4,5)P(

SUBMITTER: Kumar J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2973836 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature