As (and when) you like it: on-demand phospholipid synthesis drives phagophore expansion during autophagy

Abstract

A key feature of macroautophagy/autophagy is the formation of a transient de novo compartment called the phagophore, which envelops cytoplasmic material, ultimately enclosing it within an autophagosome, allowing it to be targeted for degradation. Schütter et al describe a novel mechanism that spatiotemporally coordinates phospholipid synthesis to drive phagophore expansion and autophagosome formation. These authors show that during starvation, fatty acids (FAs) are channeled into phospholipid synthesis, and the newly synthesized lipids are directed toward autophagosome biogenesis. Abbreviations: ACS: acyl-CoA synthetase; ER: endoplasmic reticulum; FA: fatty acid; FAS: fatty acid synthetase; MCS: membrane contact sites; PAS: phagophore assembly site.