Identification of a novel alternatively spliced septin

Septins are a family of cytoskeletal proteins involved in cytokinesis, targeting of proteins to specific sites on the plasma membrane, and cellular morphogenesis. While many aspects of their function in cytokinesis in yeast cells have been investigated, the function of septins in mammalian cells is less well understood. For example, septins are present in post-mitotic neurons, suggesting they have other roles in, for example, establishing cell polarity. The full extent of the septin gene family is not known in mammalian cells. To better understand the septin gene family, we have cloned and characterized a novel mammalian septin.