Kinesin-3 in the basidiomycete Ustilago maydis transports organelles along the entire microtubule array

Abstract

The molecular motor kinesin-3 transports early endosomes along microtubules in filamentous fungi. It was reported that kinesin-3 from the ascomycete fungi Aspergillus nidulans and Neurospora crassa use a subset of post-translationally modified and more stable microtubules. Here, I show that kinesin-3 from the basidiomycete Ustilago maydis moves along all hyphal microtubules. This difference is likely due to variation in cell cycle control and associated organization of the microtubule array.

Keywords: Membrane trafficking; Microtubule array; Molecular motors.