Autophagy in the control of programmed cell death

Abstract

Programmed cell death (PCD) is essential for plant development and immunity. Localized PCD is associated with the hypersensitive response (HR), which is a constituent of a successful plant innate immune response. Plants have developed mechanisms to meticulously prevent HR-PCD lesions from spreading. Our understanding of these mechanisms is still in its incipient stages. A recent study demonstrated that autophagy, a universally conserved process of macromolecule turnover, plays a pivotal role in controlling HR-PCD. The molecular identity of the mediators between the PCD and HR pathways is still obscure, but recent work has begun to shed light on the relationship between HR-PCD and autophagy and to suggest possible mechanisms for the regulation of these pathways.