Mouse myosin-VIIb, a novel unconventional myosin, was cloned from the inner ear and kidney. The human myosin-VIIb (HGMW-approved symbol MYO7B) sequence and exon structure were then deduced from a human BAC clone. The mouse gene was mapped to chromosome 18, approximately 0.5 cM proximal to D18Mit12. The human gene location at 2q21.1 was deduced from the map location of the BAC and confirmed by f...

Cadherin linkages between adjacent stereocilia and microvilli are essential for mechanotransduction and maintaining their organization. They are anchored to actin through interaction of their cytoplasmic domains with related tripartite complexes consisting of a class VII myosin and adaptor proteins: Myo7a/SANS/Harmonin in stereocilia and Myo7b/ANKS4B/Harmonin in microvilli. Here, we determine h...

Organized motions are hallmarks of living organisms. Such motions range from collective cell movements during development and muscle contractions at the macroscopic scale all the way down to cellular cargo (e.g., various biomolecules and organelles) transportation and mechanoforce sensing at more microscopic scales. Energy required for these biological motions is almost invariably provided by c...

The netrin UNC-6 repels motor axons by activating the UNC-5 receptor alone or in combination with the UNC-40/DCC receptor. In a genetic screen for C. elegans mutants exhibiting partial defects in motor axon projections, we isolated the max-1 gene (required for motor neuron axon guidance). max-1 loss-of-function mutations cause fully penetrant but variable axon guidance defects. Mutations in unc...

Myosin-X (Myo10) is an unconventional myosin with MyTH4-FERM domains that is best known for its striking localization to the tips of filopodia and its ability to induce filopodia. Although the head domain of Myo10 enables it to function as an actin-based motor, its tail contains binding sites for several molecules with central roles in cell biology, including phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisph...