The Many Faces of Mitochondrial Autophagy: Making Sense of Contrasting Observations in Recent Research. (8th April 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: May, Alexander I.; Devenish, Rodney J.; Prescott, Mark
• Other Names: Reggiori Fulvio Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: International journal of cell biology. Volume 2012(2012)
• Publication Date: 2012-04-08
• Subjects: Cytology -- Periodicals; Cell Biology; Cytology; Periodicals; Electronic journals -- Sciences; Electronic journals -- Biology; Periodicals; 571.6
• DOI: 10.1155/2012/431684
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1687-8876

Abstract

Abstract : Research into the selective autophagic degradation of mitochondria—mitophagy—has intensified in recent years, yielding significant insights into the function, mechanism, and regulation of this process in the eukaryotic cell. However, while some molecular players in budding yeast, such as Atg32p, Uth1p, and Aup1p, have been identified, studies further interrogating the mechanistic and regulatory features of mitophagy have yielded inconsistent and sometimes conflicting results. In this review, we focus on the current understanding of mitophagy mechanism, induction, and regulation in yeast, and suggest that differences in experimental conditions used in the various studies of mitophagy may contribute to the observed discrepancies. Consideration and understanding of these differences may help place the mechanism and regulation of mitophagy in context, and further indicate the intricate role that this essential process plays in the life and death of eukaryotic cells.