InterPro domain: IPR019605

The misato protein contains three distinct, conserved domains, segments I, II and III and is involved in the regulation of mitochondrial distribution and morphology [ 1 ]. This entry represents misato segment II.

Segments I and III are common to tubulins ( IPR003008 ), but segment II aligns with myosin heavy chain sequences from Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly, P05661 ), rabbit ( P04460 ), and human.

Segment II of misato is a major contributor to its greater length compared with the various tubulins. The most significant sequence similarities to this 54-amino acid region are from a motif found in the heavy chains of myosins from different organisms. A comparison of segment II with the vertebrate myosin heavy chains reveals that it shares homology with a myosin peptide in the hinge region linking the S2 and LMM domains. Segment II also contains heptad repeats which are characteristic of the myosin tail alpha-helical coiled-coils [ 2 ].

1. Human Misato regulates mitochondrial distribution and morphology. Exp. Cell Res. 313, 1393-404
2. An essential cell division gene of Drosophila, absent from Saccharomyces, encodes an unusual protein with tubulin-like and myosin-like peptide motifs. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94, 5189-94