Zonda, un nuevo regulador de la autofagia inducida por ayuno en Drosophila melanogaster

MARIANA MELANI; AYELÉN VALKO; NURIA M. ROMERO; AGUILERA, MILTON O.; JULIETA MARIA ACEVEDO; BHUJABAL Z; JOEL PEREZ PERRI; ROCIO VICTORIA DE LA RIVA CARRASCO; MAXIMILIANO JAVIER KATZ; ELEONORA M. SORIANELLO; D'ALESSIO, CECILIA; GABOR JUHASZ; TERJE JOHANSEN; MARÍA ISABEL COLOMBO; PABLO WAPPNER

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL

AMER SOC CELL BIOLOGY

Año: 2017

1059-1524

Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved process by which eukaryotic cells undergo self-digestion of cytoplasmic components. Here we report that a novel Drosophila immunophilin, which we have named Zonda, is critically required for starvation-induced autophagy. We show that Zonda operates at early stages of the process, specifically for Vps34-mediated phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P) deposition. Zonda displays an even distribution under basal conditions and, soon after starvation, nucleates in endoplasmic reticulum-associated foci that colocalize with omegasome markers. Zonda nucleation depends on Atg1, Atg13, and Atg17 but does not require Vps34, Vps15, Atg6, or Atg14. Zonda interacts physically with Atg1 through its kinase domain, as well as with Atg6 and Vps34. We propose that Zonda is an early component of the autophagy cascade necessary for Vps34-dependent PI3P deposition and omegasome formation.