External Seminar Matthieu Benoit "Diversity of mechanochemical cycles in the kinesin superfamily revealed by cryo-EM"

Speaker: Matthieu Benoit - IGDR, Rennes

Title: Diversity of mechanochemical cycles in the kinesin superfamily revealed by cryo-EM

Abstract: Kinesins are ATP-dependent motor proteins that play essential roles in eukaryotic cells, including organelle transport, morphogenesis, cell division, and ciliary function. By coupling ATP binding and hydrolysis to conformational changes in their motor domains, kinesins generate mechanical work that supports movement along microtubules and/or regulation of microtubule dynamics. Kinesin-3 and kinesin-13 motors illustrate two contrasting specializations: kinesin-3 motors are motile, whereas kinesin-13 motors are non-motile microtubule depolymerases. Kinesin-8 motors are distinctive in combining both activities, moving processively along microtubules while promoting microtubule-end depolymerization. Recent advances in cryo-EM have enabled high-resolution visualization of kinesins on microtubules throughout their ATPase cycles. This presentation will discuss how cryo-EM, together with single-molecule experiments, provides an in-depth view of the mechanisms of kinesin-3, kinesin-13, and kinesin-8 motors, and how distinct mechanochemical cycles support motility, depolymerization, or both.

Invited by Sophie Zinn