Structure‐function studies on Acanthamoeba myosins IA, IB, and II

Myosins IA and IB are globular proteins with only a single, short (for myosins) heavy chain (140,000 and 125,000 daltons for IA and IB, respectively) and are unable to form bipolar filaments. The amino acid sequence of IB heavy chain shows 55% similarity to muscle myosins in the N-terminal 670 residues, which contain the active sites, and a unique 500-residue C-terminus highly enriched in proline, glycine, and alanine. The C-terminal region contains a second actin-binding site which allows myosins IA and IB to cross-link actin filaments and support contractile activity. Myosins IA and IB are regulated solely by phosphorylation of one serine on the heavy chain positioned between the catalytic site and the actin-binding site that activates ATPase. Myosin II is a more conventional myosin in composition (two heavy chains and two pairs of light chains), heavy chain sequence (globular head 45% identical to muscle myosins and a coiled-coil helical tail), and structure (bipolar filaments). The tail of myosin II is much shorter than that of other conventional myosins, and it contains a 25 amino acid sequence in which helical structure is predicted to be weak or absent. The position of this sequence corresponds to the position of a bend in the monomer. Myosin II heavy chains also have a 29-residue nonhelical tailpiece which contains three regulatory, phosphorylatable serines. Phosphorylation at the tip of the tail regulates ATPase activity in the globular head apparently through an effect on filament structure.