Proteomics for Autophagy Receptor and Cargo Identification in Plants

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00609
• Publication Date: 2020-11-26T16:09:52Z
• Authors: Akila Wijerathna-...; Elke Stroeher; Ricarda Fenske; Lei Li; Owen Duncan; A. Harvey Millar
• Keywords: Proteomics; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; Autophagosomes; Autophagy; Animals; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Lysosomes

Autophagy is a catabolic process facilitating the degradation of cytoplasmic proteins and organelles in a lysosome- or vacuole-dependent manner in plants, animals, and fungi. Proteomic studies have demonstrated that autophagy controls and shapes the proteome and has identified both receptor and cargo proteins inside autophagosomes. In a smaller selection of studies, proteomics has been used for the analysis of post-translational modifications that target proteins for elimination and protein-protein interactions between receptors and cargo, providing a better understanding of the complex regulatory processes controlling autophagy. In this perspective, we highlight how proteomic studies have contributed to our understanding of autophagy in plants against the backdrop of yeast and animal studies. We then provide a framework for how the future application of proteomics in plant autophagy can uncover the mechanisms and outcomes of sculpting organelles during plant development, particularly through the identification of autophagy receptors and cargo in plants.