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Eng et al. (on pp. 1350-1363) report on ARMADILLO-REPEAT KINESIN 1 (ARK1) and NIMA-RELATED KINASE 6 (NEK6) interactions. Despite evidence that NEK6 can interact with ARK1’s C-terminal Armadillo-repeat domain, truncating this domain did not affect ARK1’s ability to promote microtubule catastrophe. While the authors conclude that ARK1 and NEK6 contribute to microtubule dynamics independently, they observed that NEK6 gene expression is blocked when ARK’s ARM domain is overexpressed, suggesting a relationship at the level of transcriptional regulation.
The cover shows NEK6 tagged with green fluorescent protein in the root epidermis of an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant lacking expression of ARK1, ARK2 and ARK3. NEK6 remains on microtubules despite the loss of ARK1. The bifurcated root hair is the consequence of reduced microtubule catastrophe through the loss of ARK1 activity.
Image by Laryssa Halat (Department of Botany, University of British Columbia).
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Image by Laryssa Halat (Department of Botany, University of British Columbia).