<i>C. elegans</i> septins regulate a subset of sensory neuronal cilia via cell-non autonomous mechanisms in supporting glia.

ABSTRACT: Primary cilia rely on compartmentalisation mechanisms that establish the organelle's protein and lipid composition. In mammalian cells, septin GTPases are reported to facilitate cilium formation, function and molecular composition by regulating a membrane diffusion barrier at the ciliary base transition zone (TZ). Here, we examined septins in vivo, within Caenorhabditis elegans sense organs. Unexpectedly, loss of one or both septin genes (unc-59, unc-61) does not cause global defects in cilium structure. Instead, only a subset of ciliated neurons, including the phasmid tail neurons, are affected, with septin mutants displaying short and mispositioned ciliary axonemes due to truncated dendritic processes. Notably, nematode septins do not appear to function at the

SUBMITTER: Filipczak E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12632803 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature