title: The C. elegans ATG101 homolog EPG-9 directly interacts with EPG-1/Atg13 and is essential for autophagy.
abstract: Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process that involves the engulfment of cytoplasmic contents in a closed double-membrane structure, called the autophagosome, and their subsequent delivery to the vacuole/lysosomes for degradation. Genetic screens in Saccharomyces cerevisiae have identified more than 30 autophagy-related (Atg) genes that are essential for autophagosome formation. Here we isolated a novel autophagy gene, epg-9, whose loss of function causes defective autophagic degradation of a variety of protein aggregates during C. elegans embryogenesis. Mutations in epg-9 also reduce survival of animals under food depletion conditions. epg-9 mutants exhibit autophagy phenotypes characteristic of those associated with loss of function of unc-51/Atg1 and epg-1/Atg13. epg-9 encodes a protein with significant homology to mammalian ATG101. EPG-9 directly interacts with EPG-1/Atg13. Our study indicates that EPG-9 forms a complex with EPG-1 in the aggrephagy pathway in C. elegans.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qianqian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Peiguo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Jinghua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D011485:Protein Binding; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D055550:Protein Stability; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C543517:atg-13 protein, C elegans; C112443:UNC-51 protein, C elegans; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases