ATG8 delipidation is not universally critical for autophagy in plants

• DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.23.554513
• Publication Date: 2023-08-24T23:45:12Z
• Authors: Yong Zou; Jonas A Ohlsson; Sanjana Holla; Igor Sabljić; Jia Xuan Leong; Florentine Ballhaus; Melanie Krebs; Karin Schumacher; Panagiotis N Moschou; Simon Stael; Suayb Üstün; Yasin Dagdas; Peter V Bozhkov; Elena A Minina
• Keywords: ATG8

Abstract Intracellular recycling via autophagy is governed by post-translational modifications of the autophagy-related (ATG) proteins. One notable example ATG4-dependent delipidation ATG8, a process that plays critical but distinct roles in autophagosome formation yeast and mammals. Here, we aimed to elucidate specific contribution this species representative evolutionary distant green plant lineages: unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii , with relatively simple set ATG genes, vascular Arabidopsis thaliana harboring expanded gene families. Remarkably, more complex machinery rendered ATG8 entirely dispensable for maturation autophagosomes, autophagic flux related stress tolerance; whereas strictly depended on ATG4-mediated ATG8. Importantly, uncovered impact different orthologs formation, especially prevalent under nitrogen depletion, providing new insight into potential drivers behind expansion family higher plants. Our findings underscore diversification molecular mechanism governing autophagosomes eukaryotic lineages highlight how conserved pathway tailored diverse organisms.