Starvation-induced expression of autophagy-related genes in Arabidopsis

Background information. Autophagy is a catabolic process for degradation of cytoplasmic components in the vacuolar apparatus. A genome-wide survey recently showed evolutionary conservation among autophagy genes in yeast, mammals and plants. To elucidate the molecular and subcellular machinery responsible for the sequestration and subsequent digestion of intracellular material in plants, we utilized a combination of morphological and molecular methods (confocal laser-scanning microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and real-time PCR respectively). Results. Autophagy in Arabidopsis thaliana suspension-cultured cells was induced by carbon starvation, which triggered an immediate arrest of…