The role of septins during cell fusion in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Diplôme Master The role of septins during cell fusion in Schizosaccharomyces pombe eng 2026-09-01 author Mundhe Dishita Umesh 423082 director Martin Sophie 0000-0002-5317-2557 403314 Département de biologie moléculaire et cellulaire (MOCEL) author Merlini Laura 403242 Département de biologie moléculaire et cellulaire (MOCEL) 58 Septins are highly conserved GTP-binding proteins that assemble into diverse hetero-oligomeric structures and associate with cellular membranes, particularly those with micron-scale curvature. While their role in cytokinesis is well established, septins also participate in a wide range of cellular processes, including neuronal morphogenesis, ciliogenesis, infections and spermiogenesis. In budding and fission yeast, septins have well characterized functions in cytokinesis and sporulation. Evidence also suggests a role for septins during cell fusion in budding yeast, whereas their contribution to this process in fission yeast remains largely unexplored. In this study, we investigate the role of septins during cell fusion in fission yeast using cell-biological approaches, super-resolution microscopy, expansion microscopy and genetic analysis of septin mutants. We show that the vegetatively expressed septins Spn1-Spn4, accumulate at the cell-cell contact site before fusion, where they form an hourglass-like structure, that rapidly reorganizes into a ring after fusion. Super-resolution and expansion microscopy further reveal the colocalization of septin subunits and their striped organization at the fusion site. Moreover, septin mutants display a reduced conjugation bridge width and delayed fusion pore expansion. Together, these findings suggest that septins contribute to the post-fusion expansion of the fusion pore in fission yeast, potentially through their dynamic reorganization at the cell-cell contact site. Dewey 570 Master's in Biology (Molecular Genetics and Biosciences) 7daed2ee-1311-4824-9df9-2e51260a966a Département de biologie moléculaire et cellulaire 16484 false 1410 Groupe Sophie Martin 3d4a20c1-11e6-4f38-980a-117a964fbaad Master thesis Restricted The_role_of_septins_during_cell_fus.pdf 11202405 application/pdf 22c884129d9283bd240ca66d99cac3b4999762ddeb3ab517c51f62f61efefb7e restrictedAccess Faculté des sciences / Section de biologie / Département de biologie moléculaire et cellulaire

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The role of septins during cell fusion in Schizosaccharomyces pombe				2026	1	0

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Mundhe, Dishita Umesh

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