Question

Microscopic beads are coated with kinesin and subjected to an in vitro mobility assay. in which direction and along what cytoskeletal element are they seen to move?

a. toward the plus ends of microtubules
b. toward the plus ends of microfilaments
c. toward the minus ends of microtubules
d. toward the minus ends of the microfilaments
e. toward the plus ends of the intermediate filaments

Answer 1

Microscopic beads coated with kinesin move toward the plus ends of microtubules, as kinesin is a motor protein that traverses microtubule tracks within cells.

Step-by-step explanation:

When microscopic beads are coated with kinesin and subjected to an in vitro mobility assay, they move toward the plus ends of microtubules. Kinesin is a motor protein that binds to microtubules and transports various cargoes along the microtubule tracks in cells. This movement is powered by the hydrolysis of ATP, and in this case, kinesin moves cargoes in the anterograde direction, which is towards the rapidly growing, or plus, ends of the microtubules. As microtubules are components of the cytoskeleton that provide structural support and also serve as conduits for intracellular transport, kinesin's journey along them is crucial for processes like organelle positioning and vesicle transport.