Birth, Growth, Maturation, and Demise of Plant Autophagic Vesicles

Abstract

Autophagy is a degradation pathway for cytoplasmic constituents, targeting various types of cargo to the vacuoles for recycling. Biogenesis and turnover of autophagic vesicles require a set of Autophagy-related (Atg) proteins, which are present in yeast, metazoans, and plants. Recent advances in autophagy research using yeast and mammalian cells have yielded better models describing how autophagic vesicles acquire membrane lipids and which molecules are involved in final steps in autophagy. These findings will further the understanding of how plant Atg homologs cooperate with other proteins to mediate autophagosome biogenesis and turnover. This mini-review provides an updated view of the molecular mechanisms underlying autophagosome dynamics in plant cells. Evidence supporting roles of actin filaments and microtubules in plant autophagosome biogenesis is also provided.