The Flemmingsome reveals an ESCRT-to-membrane coupling required for cytokinesis

Cytokinesis requires the constriction of ESCRT-III filaments on the midbody side, where abscission occurs. After ESCRT recruitment at the midbody, it is not known how the ESCRT-III machinery localizes to the abscission site. We obtained the proteome of intact, post-abscission midbodies (Flemmingsome) and revealed enriched proteins in this organelle. We propose that the ESCRT-III machinery must be physically coupled to a membrane protein at the cytokinetic abscission site for productive scission, revealing novel common requirements in cytokinesis, exosome formation and retroviral budding.