Discussion
By modulating the length of kinesin's neck linker and performing single molecule analysis, we have obtained several results that provide new insights into the role of this mechanical element in kinesin motility. First, kinesin can tolerate dramatic alterations in the size and structure of the mechanical elements that interconnect the two motor domains and still move processively along the microtubule. However, these structural perturbations are not without consequence. Extended kinesins now reach farther with their elongated neck linkers, frequently taking larger as well as sideway steps, similar to cytoplasmic dynein (Reck-Peterson et al., 2006). The most prominent “loss of function” of the extended kinesins is their slow velocity due to impaired chemomechanical coupling, a defect that is most readily explained by the loss of intramolecular tension. This interpretation gains support from the finding that velocity of an extended kinesin can be recovered to nearly wild-type levels either by chemically crosslinking the two kinesin polypeptide chains at the end of the native neck linker or by generating tension on the trailing head with an optical trap. External load also can cause kinesin to step forward or backward in the absence of ATP or without its neck linker. These results also were unexpected, since previous studies have concluded that ATP binding is necessary for both forward as well as backward kinesin stepping (Carter and Cross, 2005 and Carter and Cross, 2006). Collectively, our work provides new insight into the structural basis of kinesin stepping, tension sensing by the kinesin motor domain, and how the two kinesin heads coordinate their activities during processive motion, as discussed below.
A Model for Communication between the Two Kinesin Heads
Models for the communication between the two kinesin heads are quite varied and a topic of considerable debate. A role of intramolecular tension between the two kinesin heads in head-head communication was first evoked by Hancock and Howard (1999) on the basis of their data showing that truncated monomeric kinesins displayed 10-fold lower microtubule-stimulated ATPase and microtubule dissociation rates than dimeric kinesin. However, this result was not confirmed in other studies (e.g., Rosenfeld et al., 2003). Recent studies have postulated that kinesin waits for a step with only one-head bound, in which case interhead strain is not present and an alternative gating mechanism must be evoked (Carter and Cross, 2005 and Alonso et al., 2007). Thus, whether intramolecular tension is important for the kinesin mechanism is controversial and not resolved by a direct experiment. The experiments described here showing the increase in velocity of extended kinesins by applying external tension or interchain crosslinking arguably provide the most direct evidence to date for a role of tension sensing in the head-head coordination during motility.
How might intramolecular tension facilitate kinesin walking? Our results suggest that tension regulates microtubule dissociation of the rear kinesin head (Figure 7). In the absence of ATP (a condition where chemical gating is not possible), kinesin will step forward or backward if pulled upon by an optical trap. Under an assisting load, the tension is experienced primarily by the trailing head, causing it to release, shift forward, and then rebind along the microtubule. These events can happen repeatedly, and the motor can walk processively along the track. A similar phenomenon has been observed for cytoplasmic dynein (Gennerich et al., 2007) and myosin V (Gebhardt et al., 2006), suggesting that force-induced detachment might be a general design plan of molecular motors.