15 Å Resolution Model of the Monomeric Kinesin Motor, KIF1A

A two-headed structure has been widely believed to be essential for the kinesin molecular motor to move processively on the track, microtubules. However, we have recently demonstrated that a monomeric motor domain construct of KIF1A (C351), a kinesin superfamily protein, moves processively, taking about 700 steps before being detached from microtubules. To elucidate the mechanism of its single-headed processivity, we examined the C351-MT interaction by mutant analysis and high-resolution cryo-EM. Mutant analysis indicated the importance of a highly positively charged loop, the “K loop,” for such processivity. A 15 Å resolution structure unambiguously docked with the available atomic models revealed “K loop” as an extra microtubule-binding domain specific to KIF1A, and bound to the C terminus of tubulin. The site-specific cross-linking further confirmed this model.