Structural highlights
Function
[NCD_DROME] NCD is required for normal chromosomal segregation in meiosis, in females, and in early mitotic divisions of the embryo. The NCD motor activity is directed toward the microtubule's minus end.[1]
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
BACKGROUND: The kinesin superfamily of microtubule-associated motor proteins are important for intracellular transport and for cell division in eukaryotes. Conventional kinesins have the motor domain at the N terminus of the heavy chain and move towards the plus end of microtubules. The ncd protein is necessary for chromosome segregation in meiosis. It belongs to a subfamily of kinesins that have the motor domain at the C terminus and move towards the minus end of microtubules. RESULTS: The crystal structure of dimeric ncd has been obtained at 2.9 A resolution from crystals with the C222(1) space group, with two independent dimers per asymmetric unit. The motor domains in these dimers are not related by crystallographic symmetry and the two ncd dimers have significantly different conformations. An alpha-helical coiled coil connects, and interacts with, the motor domains. CONCLUSIONS: The ncd protein has a very compact structure, largely due to extended interactions of the coiled coil with the head domains. Despite this, we find that the overall conformation of the ncd dimer can be rotated by as much as 10 degrees away from that of the twofold-symmetric archetypal ncd. The crystal structures of conventional kinesin and of ncd suggest a structural rationale for the reversal of the direction of movement in chimeric kinesins.
The crystal structure of the minus-end-directed microtubule motor protein ncd reveals variable dimer conformations.,Kozielski F, De Bonis S, Burmeister WP, Cohen-Addad C, Wade RH Structure. 1999 Nov 15;7(11):1407-16. PMID:10574799[2]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Walker RA, Salmon ED, Endow SA. The Drosophila claret segregation protein is a minus-end directed motor molecule. Nature. 1990 Oct 25;347(6295):780-2. PMID:2146510 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/347780a0
- ↑ Kozielski F, De Bonis S, Burmeister WP, Cohen-Addad C, Wade RH. The crystal structure of the minus-end-directed microtubule motor protein ncd reveals variable dimer conformations. Structure. 1999 Nov 15;7(11):1407-16. PMID:10574799
