The Kip3-like kinesin KipB moves along microtubules and determines spindle position during synchronized mitoses in Aspergillus nidulans hyphae.

ABSTRACT: Kinesins are motor proteins which are classified into 11 different families. We identified 11 kinesin-like proteins in the genome of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. Relatedness analyses based on the motor domains grouped them into nine families. In this paper, we characterize KipB as a member of the Kip3 family of microtubule depolymerases. The closest homologues of KipB are Saccharomyces cerevisiae Kip3 and Schizosaccharomyces pombe Klp5 and Klp6, but sequence similarities outside the motor domain are very low. A disruption of kipB demonstrated that it is not essential for vegetative growth. kipB mutant strains were resistant to high concentrations of the microtubule-destabilizing drug benomyl, suggesting that KipB destabilizes microtubules. kipB mutations caused a failure of

SUBMITTER: Rischitor PE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC420139 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature