The Kinesin-8 Motor Kif18A Suppresses Kinetochore Movements to Control Mitotic Chromosome Alignment

The kinesin-8 motor Kif18A suppresses kinetochore movements to control mitotic chromosome alignment.

During vertebrate cell division, chromosomes oscillate with periods of smooth motion interrupted by abrupt reversals in direction. These oscillations must be spatially constrained in order to align and segregate chromosomes with high fidelity, but the molecular mechanism for this activity is uncertain. We report here that the human kinesin-8 Kif18A has a primary role in the control of chromosom...

Chromosome Congression: The Kinesin-8-Step Path to Alignment

During mitosis, chromosomes must become aligned at the equator of the mitotic spindle before segregation. Recent work suggests that a kinesin-8 motor uses a unique combination of activities to regulate this process.

A Non-Motor Microtubule Binding Site Is Essential for the High Processivity and Mitotic Function of Kinesin-8 Kif18A

BACKGROUND Members of the kinesin-8 subfamily are plus end-directed molecular motors that accumulate at the plus-ends of kinetochore-microtubules (kt-MTs) where they regulate MT dynamics. Loss of vertebrate kinesin-8 function induces hyperstable MTs and elongated mitotic spindles accompanied by severe chromosome congression defects. It has been reported that the motility of human kinesin-8, Kif...

Alp7/TACC recruits kinesin-8–PP1 to the Ndc80 kinetochore protein for timely mitotic progression and chromosome movement

Upon establishment of proper kinetochore-microtubule attachment, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) must be silenced to allow onset of anaphase, which is when sister chromatids segregate equally to two daughter cells. However, how proper kinetochore-microtubule attachment leads to timely anaphase onset remains elusive. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms of chromosome movement during anaph...

Functional characterization of the mitotic kinesin-like protein Kif18A