Structural basis for the movement of kinesin on microtubule

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26840030
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Structural biochemistry
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo (2015); The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (2014)
• Principal Investigator: Tsukasa Makino 東京大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (10632896)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: チューブリン組換え体 / キネシン / 微小管

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Intracellular transport is crucial for cellular function. We studied the structural basis focusing on the kinesin and microtubule (a filament polymerized with tubulins). To this end, we developed a system for preparing recombinant tubulin in large-scale, which is a product from single gene, and contain no affinity-tag. We also determined the crystal structure of human tubulin prepared using our method. This work has clinical significance because this human tubulin expression and drug resistance of tumor cells are linked. Finally we determined the atomic structural model of dimer kinesins on microtubule using cryo-electron microscopy and Xray crystallography. Combining single molecule FRET and other method, we elucidated the mechanism how microtubule promote the kinesin movement.

Free Research Field

構造生物学