A new type of compartment, defined by plant-specific Atg8-interacting proteins, is induced upon exposure of Arabidopsis plants to carbon starvation

Arik Honig, Tamar Avin-Wittenberg, Shai Ufaz, Gad Galili*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

146 Scopus citations

Abstract

Atg8 is a central protein in bulk starvation-induced autophagy, but it is also specifically associated with multiple protein targets under various physiological conditions to regulate their selective turnover by the autophagy machinery. Here, we describe two new closely related Arabidopsis thaliana Atg8-interacting proteins (ATI1 and ATI2) that are unique to plants. We show that under favorable growth conditions, ATI1 and ATI2 are partially associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane network, whereas upon exposure to carbon starvation, they become mainly associated with newly identified spherical compartments that dynamically move along the ER network. These compartments are morphologically distinct from previously reported spindle-shaped ER bodies and, in contrast to them, do not contain ER-lumenal markers possessing a C-terminal HDEL sequence. Organelle and autophagosome-specific markers show that the bodies containing ATI1 are distinct from Golgi, mitochondria, peroxisomes, and classical autophagosomes. The final destination of the ATI1 bodies is the central vacuole, indicating that they may operate in selective turnover of specific proteins. ATI1 and ATI2 gene expression is elevated during late seed maturation and desiccation. We further demonstrate that ATI1 overexpression or suppression of both ATI1 and ATI2, respectively, stimulate or inhibit seed germination in the presence of the germinationinhibiting hormone abscisic acid.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)288-303
Number of pages16
JournalPlant Cell
Volume24
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2012
Externally publishedYes

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