Autophagy’s little helper

How do proteins mediate autophagosome-vacoule fusion? SMICH PhD student Levent Bas and collegues found more insights.

During autophagy the cell collects, degrades and recycles unwanted cellular material. This is an important process as cellular waste is ultimately harmful to the whole organism if it accumulates in the cells. Analogous to the processing of household waste, this mechanism requires certain protagonists and elements. SMICH PhD student Levent Bas from Claudine Kraft’s group at MFPL together with colleagues has identified Ykt6 as the so far elusive protein that mediates autophagosome-vacuole fusion. The specifically for this purpose developed in vitro approach holds great potential for future research.