Septins function in exocytosis via physical interactions with the exocyst complex in fission yeast cytokinesis

Abstract

Septins can function as scaffolds for protein recruitment, membrane-bound diffusion barriers, or membrane curvature sensors. Septins are important for cytokinesis, but their exact roles are still obscure. In fission yeast, four septins (Spn1–Spn4) accumulate at the rim of the division plane as rings. The octameric exocyst complex, which tethers exocytic vesicles to the plasma membrane, exhibits a similar localization and is essential for plasma membrane deposition during cytokinesis. Without septins, the exocyst spreads across the division plane but is absent from the rim during septum formation. These results suggest that septins and the exocyst physically interact for proper localization and function. Indeed, we predicted six pairs of interactions between septin and exocyst subunits by AlphaFold, most of them are confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation and yeast two-hybrid assays. Exocyst mislocalization results in mistargeting of secretory vesicles and their cargos, which leads to cell-separation delay in septin mutants. Our results indicate that septins guide the targeting of the exocyst complex on the plasma membrane for vesicle tethering during cytokinesis through physical interactions.