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KipA Kinesin
KipA is a kinesin motor protein which has been shown to have a role in the maintenance of hyphal growth directionality and temporal microtubule anchorage at the cortex in the filamentous fungi, Aspergillus nidulans. .

Discovery and Identification

First discovered when the researchers were screening for kinesin proteins in Aspergillus nidulans’ genome. KipA was found to be 889 amino acids long with a molecular mass of 96.25 kDa. Genetic domain comparisons between KipA and other known kinesin proteins revealed that KipA belongs to the CENP-E subfamily of kinesins which are involved in the mitotic cell division of eukaryotic organisms.

Roles of KipA Kinesin

KipA is a motor kinesin which moves towards the plus-end of microtubules. It somehow interacts with the vesicles that build-up at the growing end of the fungal hyphae and plus-end tracker molecules.

Unlike many other kinesins, KipA has not been shown to carry any molecules or vesicles as “cargo”, but instead involved in the organisation of these vesicles that contain necessary units for cell wall synthesis at the growing end of the hyphae. Strains which lack KipA were shown to fail at maintaining a direct linear growth of hyphae and would result in curved hyphal elongation.

KipA is also noted to be involved in the mitotic cell division of fungal cells as it was noted to be found at the midzone of the spindle bodies along with the plus ends of the astral microtubules.