Autophagy in Reproduction

Abstract

Autophagy, a major degradation/recycling pathway, plays an essential role in cellular homeostasis maintenance, cell fate decision, and reproductive development. During reproduction, sperms and eggs, the specialized haploid gametes produced by the meiotic process of the germ cells in male and female respectively, are fused to form a new zygote that develops into fetus through embryogenesis and maternal–fetal crosstalk. Researches carried out in the past few years have proved that autophagy plays a key role in the regulation of reproduction process, and blockage of autophagy process likely contributes to reproductive abnormalities and even infertility. Here we summerize the recent progress in exploring the functional roles of autophagy in reproductive processes, such as spermatogenesis, folliculogenesis, fertilization, embryogenesis, and maternal–fetal crosstalk, in both animals and plants.