The microtubule cytoskeleton and the mitotic spindle are highly dynamic structures, yet their sizes are remarkably constant, thus indicating that the growth and shrinkage of their constituent microtubules are finely balanced. This balance is achieved, in part, through kinesin-8 proteins (such as Kip3p in budding yeast and KLP67A in Drosophila) that destabilize microtubules. Here, we directly demonstrate that Kip3p destabilizes microtubules by depolymerizing them--accounting for the effects of kinesin-8 perturbations on microtubule and spindle length observed in fungi and metazoan cells. Furthermore, using single-molecule microscopy assays, we show that Kip3p has several properties that distinguish it from other depolymerizing kinesins, such as the kinesin-13 MCAK. First, Kip3p disassembles microtubules exclusively at the plus end and second, remarkably, Kip3p depolymerizes longer microtubules faster than shorter ones. These properties are consequences of Kip3p being a highly processive, plus-end-directed motor, both in vitro and in vivo. Length-dependent depolymerization provides a new mechanism for controlling the lengths of subcellular structures.

Motor proteins in the kinesin-8 family depolymerize microtubules in a length-dependent manner that may be crucial for controlling the length of organelles such as the mitotic spindle. We used single-molecule microscopy to understand the mechanism of length-dependent depolymerization by the budding yeast kinesin-8, Kip3p. We found that after binding at a random position on a microtubule and walking to the plus end, an individual Kip3p molecule pauses there until an incoming Kip3p molecule bumps it off. Kip3p dissociation is accompanied by removal of just one or two tubulin dimers (on average). Such a cooperative mechanism leads to a depolymerization rate that is proportional to the flux of motors to the microtubule end and accounts for the length dependence of depolymerization. This type of feedback between length and disassembly may serve as a model for understanding how an ensemble of molecules can measure and control polymer length.

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Despite the crowdedness of the interior of cells, microtubule-based motor proteins are able to deliver cargoes rapidly and reliably throughout the cytoplasm. We hypothesize that motor proteins may be adapted to operate in crowded environments by having molecular properties that prevent them from forming traffic jams. To test this hypothesis, we reconstituted high-density traffic of purified kinesin-8 motor protein, a highly processive motor with long end-residency time, along microtubules in a total internal-reflection fluorescence microscopy assay. We found that traffic jams, characterized by an abrupt increase in the density of motors with an associated abrupt decrease in motor speed, form even in the absence of other obstructing proteins. To determine the molecular properties that lead to jamming, we altered the concentration of motors, their processivity, and their rate of dissociation from microtubule ends. Traffic jams occurred when the motor density exceeded a critical value (density-induced jams) or when motor dissociation from the microtubule ends was so slow that it resulted in a pileup (bottleneck-induced jams). Through comparison of our experimental results with theoretical models and stochastic simulations, we characterized in detail under which conditions densityand bottleneck-induced traffic jams form or do not form. Our results indicate that transport kinesins, such as kinesin-1, may be evolutionarily adapted to avoid the formation of traffic jams by moving only with moderate processivity and dissociating rapidly from microtubule ends.

Friction limits the operation of macroscopic engines and is critical to the performance of micromechanical devices. We report measurements of friction in a biological nanomachine. Using optical tweezers, we characterized the frictional drag force of individual kinesin-8 motor proteins interacting with their microtubule tracks. At low speeds and with no energy source, the frictional drag was related to the diffusion coefficient by the Einstein relation. At higher speeds, the frictional drag force increased nonlinearly, consistent with the motor jumping 8 nanometers between adjacent tubulin dimers along the microtubule, and was asymmetric, reflecting the structural polarity of the microtubule. We argue that these frictional forces arise from breaking bonds between the motor domains and the microtubule, and they limit the speed and efficiency of kinesin.

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Major changes in trypanosome cell form can be achieved by simple modulation of the calpain-like protein ClpGM6 via coordinated association and positioning of membrane and cytoskeletal components.

The transition zone (TZ) of eukaryotic cilia and flagella is a structural intermediate between the basal body and the axoneme that regulates ciliary traffic. Mutations in genes encoding TZ proteins (TZPs) cause human inherited diseases (ciliopathies). Here, we use the trypanosome to identify TZ components and localize them to TZ subdomains, showing that the Bardet-Biedl syndrome complex (BBSome) is more distal in the TZ than the Meckel syndrome (MKS) complex. Several of the TZPs identified here have human orthologs. Functional analysis shows essential roles for TZPs in motility, in building the axoneme central pair apparatus and in flagellum biogenesis. Analysis using RNAi and HaloTag fusion protein approaches reveals that most TZPs (including the MKS ciliopathy complex) show long-term stable association with the TZ, whereas the BBSome is dynamic. We propose that some Bardet-Biedl syndrome and MKS pleiotropy may be caused by mutations that impact TZP complex dynamics.transition zone | cilium/flagellum | BBSome | MKS/B9 complex | trypanosome C ilia, or flagella (the two terms are used here interchangeably), are multifunctional organelles that were present in the last common eukaryotic ancestor (1). Defects in cilia are responsible for pleiotropic human diseases (called ciliopathies) and their function is essential for pathogenesis in protozoan parasites (2, 3).During ciliogenesis, a microtubule organizing center called the "basal body" docks at the membrane. Basal bodies are built from nine microtubule triplets and two microtubules from each triplet extend to form a transition zone (TZ) and, ultimately, the axoneme. Thus, the TZ represents a structural junction between the basal body and the axoneme.As expected from its strategic position between the basal body and the axoneme, the TZ acts as a "ciliary gate" that controls ciliary composition and function (4). Many ciliopathies are caused by defects in complexes that associate with the TZ, including Meckel syndrome (MKS), Joubert syndrome and Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS). Studies using murine kidney epithelial cells and embryos suggest that the MKS complex demarcates the ciliary membrane by forming a diffusion barrier at the base of the cilium (5-7). On the other hand, the BBS complex (BBSome) is an adapter for intraflagellar transport (IFT) complexes that cross the TZ barrier to transport sensory proteins between the ciliary membrane and the cell body (8, 9).The TZ has distinctive structural features. At the proximal boundary of the TZ, where the basal body C tubule terminates, a "terminal plate" crosses the TZ. Studies in Tetrahymena suggest that the terminal plate contains pores for the passage of IFT "trains" that deliver axonemal components to the distal tip of flagella (10). Striated transitional fibers radiate from the distal end of the basal body triplets to join the plasma membrane (11-14), forming blades thought to create a physical barrier preventing vesicles from entering the ciliary lumen. Electron microscopy (EM) studies in Chlamydomonas suggest that...