dolipore septum

GO:0000937 · Envelope · Envelope layer · Proposed

A porous fungal cell septum in which the cross-wall swells around a central pore and the pore is capped on both sides by septal pore caps called parenthesomes. [GO:0000937]

Synonyms: dolipore-parenthesome septum; septal pore complex

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Stoichiometry	Essential	Role
barrel-shaped septal swelling	Other	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)			UNKNOWN	Forms the swollen cross-wall around the central septal pore. `GO:0000937` GO:0000937 defines the dolipore septum as a cross-wall swollen around a central pore. `DOI:10.1139/m78-129` Traquair and McKeen 1978 used transmission electron microscopy to describe the dolipore-parenthesome septum in Hirschioporus pargamenus hyphae.
paired septal pore caps	Other	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)			UNKNOWN	Paired parenthesomes cap the two cytoplasmic faces of the dolipore and participate in septal pore closure. `DOI:10.1128/EC.00125-08` Van Driel et al. 2008 localized the SPC18 glycoprotein to Rhizoctonia solani septal pore caps and to pore plugs, supporting a cap role in dolipore plugging. `DOI:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.02122.x` Van Peer et al. 2010 showed that Schizophyllum commune septal pore caps are proteinaceous, membrane-covered structures whose loss impairs septal closure.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:5302 Agaricomycotina — VARIABLE: Dolipore septa with septal pore caps have been characterized in sampled filamentous Agaricomycotina, while pore-cap morphology varies among lineages and this row does not assert presence across the whole subphylum. [DOI:10.1016/j.mycres.2008.12.007]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:5334 Schizophyllum commune — Wood-rot agaricomycete model in which septal pore cap composition and its requirement for normal septal closure, vegetative growth and mushroom formation were genetically tested. [DOI:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.02122.x]

Functions

septal pore gatekeeping — The dolipore septum and its paired septal pore caps regulate cytoplasmic continuity between adjacent hyphal compartments by controlling whether the central septal pore is open or closed.
- DOI:10.1128/EC.00125-08 Van Driel et al. 2008 found SPC18 in septal pore caps and pore plugs, supporting septal pore cap participation in dolipore plugging.
- DOI:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.02122.x Van Peer et al. 2010 linked Schizophyllum commune septal pore cap loss to an inability to close septa.

Mechanism graphs

Parenthesomes cover and gate the dolipore (FUNCTION)

A barrel-shaped septal wall surrounds the central pore, paired septal pore caps cover the two cytoplasmic faces of that pore, and the caps participate in closing the pore to gate exchange between adjacent hyphal compartments.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
barrel-shaped septal swelling	surrounds	central septal pore	`GO:0000937` GO:0000937 defines the dolipore septum by a central pore whose surrounding septum is swollen.
paired septal pore caps	covers	central septal pore	`GO:0000937` GO:0000937 includes parenthesome-covered central pores in the dolipore septum definition. `DOI:10.1128/EC.00125-08` Van Driel et al. 2008 described septal pore caps as associated with dolipore septa in Agaricomycotina.
paired septal pore caps	participates in closure of	central septal pore	`DOI:10.1128/EC.00125-08` Van Driel et al. 2008 found SPC18 in both septal pore caps and pore plugs in Rhizoctonia solani. `DOI:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.02122.x` Van Peer et al. 2010 showed that Schizophyllum commune septal pore cap loss prevents septal closure.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve source-neutral groundings for septal pore cap proteins before adding SPC18, Spc14, Spc33 or homologous pore-plugging proteins as dolipore septum components. SPC18 was identified in Rhizoctonia solani and Spc14/Spc33 were tested in Schizophyllum commune, but this pass did not identify an exact InterPro, Pfam or NCBIfam family that denotes a source-neutral septal pore cap component class.

Evidence

GO:0000937 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the dolipore septum.
DOI:10.1139/m78-129 Traquair and McKeen 1978, Ultrastructure of the dolipore-parenthesome septum in Hirschioporus pargamenus (Polyporaceae), Canadian Journal of Microbiology.
DOI:10.1016/j.mycres.2008.12.007 Van Driel et al. 2009, Septal pore complex morphology in the Agaricomycotina (Basidiomycota) with emphasis on the Cantharellales and Hymenochaetales, Mycological Research.
DOI:10.1128/EC.00125-08 Van Driel et al. 2008, Septal Pore Cap Protein SPC18, Isolated from the Basidiomycetous Fungus Rhizoctonia solani, Also Resides in Pore Plugs, Eukaryotic Cell.
DOI:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.02122.x Van Peer et al. 2010, The septal pore cap is an organelle that functions in vegetative growth and mushroom formation of the wood-rot fungus Schizophyllum commune, Environmental Microbiology.

Curation history

2026-09-12T04:46:52Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-12T04:47:25Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added dolipore septum synonymy, porous-cell-septum parentage, reviewed label-only septal-wall and septal-pore-cap components, Agaricomycotina taxonomy, a Schizophyllum commune canonical example, a septal pore gatekeeping function, DOI/GO evidence, a nonmechanistic pore-gating graph, and a grounding TODO for septal pore cap proteins.
2026-09-12T04:54:06Z codex · ADDRESS_REVIEW — Resolved PR #583 review issues #584, #585 and #586 by changing the Agaricomycotina distribution to VARIABLE, renaming the parenthesome component to paired septal pore caps, and softening the pore-plugging graph edge to septal pore closure.

Source: data/structures/envelope/dolipore_septum.yaml