TWGFD

Welcome to ATG8 !

Autophagy, literally meaning self-eating, is a fundamental cellular catabolic process conserved in eukaryotic organisms that contributes to cell survival in response to multiple stresses and is important for organism fitness. Autophagy is dependent on a set of ATG proteins, initially identified in yeast. Eukaryotic cells employ macroautophagy/autophagy to facilitate degradation of unwanted cytoplasmic contents, abnormal protein aggregates or dysfunctional organelles in lysosomes (in animals) or vacuoles (in yeast and plants) for recycling. Among the numerous ATG proteins, a central role belongs to the ubiquitin-like protein ATG8, which functions in autophagosome formation, mediating membrane tethering, elongation and fusion.