CHROMOSOMAL LOCALIZATION REVEALS 3 KINESIN HEAVY-CHAIN GENES IN MOUSE

Kinesin-related proteins constitute a superfamily of microtubule-depen dent motors that play important roles in organelle transport and cell division. These molecules share a conserved motor region of approximat ely 340 amino acids, which is attached to diverse ''tail'' or cargo-bi nding domains. The kinesin superfamily was first defined by kinesin he avy chain, which is the principal component of ''true'' kinesin, Inver tebrates appear to possess only a single gene encoding kinesin heavy c hain. Mammals appear to have two or more genes encoding kinesin heavy chain, although the precise situation has been unclear. Here we defini tively demonstrate that mouse has three kinesin heavy chain genes, Kif 5a, Kif5b, and Kif5c. Kif5a, Kif5b, and Kif5c map to mouse chromosomes 10, 18, and 2; Kif5a and Kif5c appear to be expressed only in neurona l tissues by Northern blot analysis while Kif5b appears to be ubiquito us in its expression. (C) 1998 Academic Press.