Kinesins and microtubules: Their structures and motor mechanisms

Abstract

Atomic resolution three-dimensional structures of two oppositely directed kinesin motors - conventional kinesin and non-claret disjunctional (ncd) protein - are now available in their functional dimeric form. A detailed model of the microtubule has also been recently obtained by docking the 3.7 Å structure of tubulin into a 20 Å map of the microtubule. Recent structural studies of kinesin motors and their microtubule tracks are contributing to our current understanding of kinesin motor mechanisms.