title: Pexophagy: the selective autophagy of peroxisomes.
abstract: Pichia pastoris and Hansenula polymorpha are methylotrophic yeasts capable of utilizing methanol, as a sole source of carbon and energy. Growth of these yeast species on methanol requires the synthesis of cytosolic and peroxisomal enzymes combined with the proliferation of peroxisomes. Peroxisomes are also abundantly present in the alkane-utilizing yeast Yarrowia lipolytica upon growth of cells on oleic acid. This feature has made these yeast species attractive model systems to dissect the molecular mechanisms controlling peroxisome biogenesis. We have found that upon glucose- or ethanol-induced catabolite inactivation, metabolically superfluous peroxisomes are rapidly and selectively degraded within the vacuole by a process called pexophagy, the selective removal of peroxisomes by autophagy-like processes. Utilizing several genetic screens, we have identified a number of genes that are essential for pexophagy. In this review, we will summarize our current knowledge of the molecular events of pexophagy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cregg
authors.forename: Jan A K W
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kiel
authors.forename: Ida J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: van der Klei
authors.forename: Masahide
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oku
authors.forename: Yasuyoshi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Andrei A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sibirny
authors.forename: Oleh V
authors.initials: OV
authors.lastname: Stasyk
authors.forename: Marten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Veenhuis
mesh_terms: D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D008561:Membrane Fusion / Q000502:physiology; D000432:Methanol / Q000378:metabolism; D019301:Oleic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D020675:Peroxisomes / Q000502:physiology*; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000502:physiology; D010843:Pichia / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000502:physiology*; D025062:Yarrowia / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D019301:Oleic Acid; D005947:Glucose; D000432:Methanol