Diversity of mitophagy pathways at a glance

Abstract

Mitochondria are crucial organelles that play a central role in various cell signaling and metabolic pathways. A healthy mitochondrial population is maintained through a series of quality control pathways and requires a fine-tuned balance between mitochondrial biogenesis and degradation. Defective targeting of dysfunctional mitochondria to lysosomes through mitophagy has been linked to several diseases, but the underlying mechanisms and the relative importance of distinct mitophagy pathways in vivo are largely unknown. In this Cell Science at a Glance and the accompanying poster, we describe our current understanding of how parts of, or whole, mitochondria are recognized by the autophagic machinery and targeted to lysosomes for degradation. We also discuss how this might be regulated under different physiological conditions to maintain mitochondrial and cellular health.