Thermal stability of kinesin motors

Microtubule-based kinesin-1 motors have a remarkably limited thermal range in vitro, with an onset of degradation already at 30 C. However, the same motors in cells function at significantly higher temperatures. We show that trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) extends the temperature range of kinesin up to 50 C. This finding suggests that molecular crowding in cells may be sufficient to significantly extend the thermal range of kinesin. We will further discuss kinesin performance across a wide temeprature range and the implications of our findings for both biology and nano-engineering.