Seeking truth on Monte Verita

The EMBO Workshop on The Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of Septins and Septin Function took place between 6 and 10 May 2007, in Monte Verita, Switzerland, and was organized by Y. Barral, S. Buvelot Frei and C. Field.![][1] Septin biologists recently gathered on a lush hillside called Monte Verita above the sparkling waters of Lake Maggiore in Southern Switzerland for the second international meeting on septin biology. Once a utopian community of artists and exiles, this proved to be an inspirational setting for the animated exchange of ideas, dissection of models and planning of experiments focused on understanding the intriguing family of proteins called septins.After the original identification of septins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by L. Hartwell 40 years ago, they have been discovered throughout metazoans and mammals, although they are absent in plants (Hartwell, 1971; Longtine et al . 1996). J. Pringle (Stanford, CA, USA), the founding father of septin biology, coined the name ‘septins’ based on their function in cytokinesis and localization to the mother–bud neck. Experiments in various systems have shown that septins have many cellular functions such as acting as membrane barriers, directing exocytosis, positioning the spindle, and regulating cell cycle checkpoints and polarized growth. Aberrant septin function is increasingly associated with various neurodegenerative diseases and cancers, emphasizing the roles of septins in diverse cellular processes. Here, we attempt to capture the highlights presented at the meeting and raise the important open questions facing the field.Ever since Breck Byers first observed septin‐dependent rings made of 10 nm filaments encircling the mother–bud neck using electron microscopy, it was speculated that septins might be filament‐forming proteins (Byers & Goetsch, 1976). In the intervening 30 years, fascinating discoveries accumulated about septin organization and function in many species; however, in early 2007, the community still faced a bounty of … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif