A kinesin mutation that uncouples motor domains and desensitizes the γ-phosphate sensor

Abstract

Conventional kinesin is a processive, microtubule-based motor protein that drives movements of membranous organelles in neurons. Amino acid Thr291 of Drosophila kinesin heavy chain is identical in all superfamily members and is located in α-helix 5 on the microtubule-binding surface of the catalytic motor domain. Substitution of methionine at Thr291 results in complete loss of function in vivo. In vitro, the T291M mutation disrupts the ATPase cross-bridge cycle of a kinesin motor/neck construct, K401-4 (Brendza, K. M., Rose, D. J., Gilbert, S. P., and Saxton, W. M. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 31506-31514). The pre-steady-state kinetic analysis presented here shows that ATP binding is weakened significantly, and the rate of ATP hydrolysis is increased. The mutant motor also fails to distinguish ATP from ADP, suggesting that the contacts important for sensing the γ-phosphate have been altered. The results indicate that there is a signaling defect between the motor domains of the T291M dimer. The ATPase cycles of the two motor domains appear to become kinetically uncoupled, causing them to work more independently rather than in the strict, coordinated fashion that is typical of kinesin.