Functional analysis of mouse C-terminal kinesin motor KifC2

Proteins of the kinesin superfamily define a class of microtubule-dependent motors that play crucial roles in cell division and intracellular transpor t. In the mouse, several kinesin motors have been characterized and are sug gested to play roles in axonal and/or dendritic transport. One such kinesin is KifC2. Sequence and secondary structure analysis revealed that KifC2 is a member of the C-terminal motor family. Northern and Western blot analyse s indicated that KifC2 is specifically expressed in both the central and pe ripheral nervous systems. The cellular locations of the KifC2 proteins were found to be mainly in neural cell bodies and dendrites but also in axons. To understand the in vivo function of the KifC2 gene, we used homologous re combination in embryonic stem cells to construct knockout mouse strains for the KifC2 gene. Homozygous KifC2 mutants were viable and reproduced normal ly, and their development was apparently normal. These results suggest that KifC2 is dispensable for normal neural development and behavior in the mou se.