title: Autophagy: pathways for self-eating in plant cells.
abstract: Plants have developed sophisticated mechanisms to survive when in unfavorable environments. Autophagy is a macromolecule degradation pathway that recycles damaged or unwanted cell materials upon encountering stress conditions or during specific developmental processes. Over the past decade, our molecular and physiological understanding of plant autophagy has greatly increased. Most of the essential machinery required for autophagy seems to be conserved from yeast to plants. Plant autophagy has been shown to function in various stress responses, pathogen defense, and senescence. Some of its potential upstream regulators have also been identified. Here, we describe recent advances in our understanding of autophagy in plants, discuss areas of controversy, and highlight potential future directions in autophagy research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology and Interdepartmental Genetics Program, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
authors.forename: Yimo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Diane C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Bassham
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology*; D005658:Fungi / Q000502:physiology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D059828:Plant Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D063245:Plant Development / Q000502:physiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014452:Ubiquitins / Q000378:metabolism; D015003:Yeasts / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014452:Ubiquitins