NIMA-related kinases (Neks) belong to a large family of Ser/Thr kinases that have critical roles in coordinating microtubule dynamics during ciliogenesis and mitotic progression. The Nek kinases are also expressed in neurons, whose axonal projections are, similarly to cilia, microtubule-abundant structures that extend from the cell body. We therefore investigated whether Nek kinases have additi...

GUODONG XIE,* LONG LI, YONGXIONG REN, HAO HUANG, YAN YAN, NISAR AHMED, ZHE ZHAO, MARTIN P. J. LAVERY, NIMA ASHRAFI, SOLYMAN ASHRAFI, ROBERT BOCK, MOSHE TUR, ANDREAS F. MOLISCH, AND ALAN E. WILLNER Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK NxGen Partners,...

BACKGROUND Many of the diverse functions of cilia depend upon tight control of their length. Steady-state length reflects a balance between rates of ciliary assembly and disassembly, two parameters likely controlled by a length sensor of unknown identity or mechanism. RESULTS A null mutation in Chlamydomonas CNK2, a member of the evolutionarily conserved family of NIMA-related kinases, reveal...

NIMA-related kinases (Nrks or Neks) have emerged as key regulators of ciliogenesis. In human, mutations in Nek1 and Nek8 cause cilia-related disorders. The ciliary functions of Nrks are mostly revealed by genetic studies; however, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Here we show that a Chlamydomonas Nrk, CNK4, regulates ciliary stability and length. CNK4 is localized to the basal...