what's your favorite function of proteins belonging to the kinesin superfamily? there are many more than you think, and it goes much deeper than the kinesin-1 we're all familiar with. videos from LampScience This Molecular Motor Walks Like It Means It . Meet the Kinesin, Thom Leach Kinesin Walking Animation ｜ 3D Molecular Motor with Cargo, info zone The Role of Actin in Cell Motility. images from Aging and Metabolism Research Laboratory at the National University of Singapore. Hirokawa N, Tanaka Y. Kinesin superfamily proteins (KIFs): Various functions and their relevance for important phenomena in life and diseases. Exp Cell Res. 2015 May 15;334(1):16-25. "Based on observations made using electron microscopy, five major kinesin families were initially discovered in the mouse brain. It is now thought that there are 45 mammalian KIF genes, but there could be twice as many KIF proteins because multiple isoforms can be generated by alternative mRNA splicing. The KIFs are classified into 15 kinesin families, which are termed kinesin-1 to kinesin 14B according to the results of phylogenetic analyses (Fig. 1). These families can be broadly grouped into three types, depending on the position of the motor domain in the molecule: N kinesins have a motor domain in the amino terminal region, M kinesins have a motor domain in the middle region and C kinesins have a motor domain in the carboxy-terminal region. In general, N kinesins and C kinesins provide microtubule-plus-end- and minus-end-directed motilities, respectively, and M kinesins depolymerize microtubules into tubulin molecules [1], [2]." #cellbiology #kinesins #dyneins #neuroscience #biochem - @chemedits