Structure And Function Of Cytoplasmic Motors

National Institute Of Neurological Disorders And Stroke

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Abstract

The squid giant axon is an important model for understanding axonal transport. Conventional kinesin (Kinesin-1), the founding member of a diverse and functionally important group of molecular motor proteins, was discovered in squid and its role there attributed to the transport of vesicles down axons. Recently we completed an EST (Expressed Sequence Tag) project that identified other kinesins that might be present in the giant axon. We now know that one of these, a Kinesin-3, is the actual motor for fast transport of organelles down the axon. This project has met its goals and is terminated.