biostudies-literatureUnknown71(6)Galindo-Trigo SBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research CouncilThe kinesin family is greatly expanded in plants compared with animals and, with more than a third up-regulated in expression during cell division, it has been suggested that this expansion facilitated complex plant-specific cytoskeletal rearrangements. The cell cycle-regulated kinesins include two with an N-terminal malectin domain, a protein domain that has been shown to bind polysaccharides and peptides when found extracellularly in receptor-like kinases. Although malectin domain kinesins are evolutionarily deep rooted, their function in plants remains unclear. Here we show that loss of MALECTIN DOMAIN KINESIN 2 (MDKIN2) results in stochastic developmental defects in pollen, embryo, and endosperm. High rates of seed abnormalities and abortion occur in mdkin2 mutants through a partial maJournal of experimental botany1828-1841https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC7094084biostudies-literatureA malectin domain kinesin functions in pollen and seed development in Arabidopsis.PMC7094084Galindo-Trigo SGrand TMSmith LMVoigt CAfalseA malectin domain kinesin functions in pollen and seed development in Arabidopsis.The kinesin family is greatly expanded in plants compared with animals and, with more than a third up-regulated in expression during cell division, it has been suggested that this expansion facilitated complex plant-specific cytoskeletal rearrangements. The cell cycle-regulated kinesins include two with an N-terminal malectin domain, a protein domain that has been shown to bind polysaccharides and peptides when found extracellularly in receptor-like kinases. Although malectin domain kinesins are evolutionarily deep rooted, their function in plants remains unclear. Here we show that loss of MALECTIN DOMAIN KINESIN 2 (MDKIN2) results in stochastic developmental defects in pollen, embryo, and endosperm. High rates of seed abnormalities and abortion occur in mdkin2 mutants through a partial ma2020-01-01T00:00:00Z2020 Mar2026-05-08T06:16:47.01Z2025-05-29T19:04:42.498ZS-EPMC70940843195016610.1093/jxb/eraa023