Identification of a gene family (kat) encoding kinesin-like proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana and the characterization of secondary structure of KatA

A gene family, designated kat, has been characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana by genomic Southern hybridization and nucleotide sequencing analysis. The kat gene family includes at least five members, named katA, katB, katC, katD and katE, whose products share appreciable sequence similarities in their presumptive ATP-binding and microtubule-binding motifs with known kinesin-like proteins. The carboxyl-terminal region of the KatA protein deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA clone has considerable homology with the mechanochemical motor domain of the kinesin heavy chain. The predicted secondary structure of the KatA protein indicates two globular domains separated by a long a helical coiled coil with heptad repeat structures, such as are commonly found in kinesin-like proteins.