Animal septins contain functional transmembrane domains

Abstract

Septins, a conserved family of filament-forming proteins, contribute to eukaryotic cell division, polarity, and membrane trafficking. Septins scaffold other proteins to cellular membranes, but it is not fully understood how septins associate with membranes. We identified and characterized an isoform of Caenorhabditis elegans septin UNC-61 that was predicted to contain a transmembrane domain (TMD). The TMD isoform is expressed in a subset of tissues where the known septins were known to act, and TMD function was required for tissue integrity of the egg-laying apparatus. We found predicted TMD-containing septins across much of opisthokont phylogeny and demonstrated that the TMD-containing sequence of a primate TMD-septin is sufficient for localization to cellular membranes. Together, our findings reveal a novel mechanism of septin-membrane association with profound implications for septin dynamics and regulation.