Stationary-phase mitophagy in respiring Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The clearance of malfunctioning mitochondria is an important housekeeping function in respiring eukaryotic cells and plays a role in physiological homeostasis as well as in the progression of late-onset diseases. This clearance is thought to occur by a specific form of autophagic degradation called mitophagy. Although the mechanism of nonspecific macroautophagy is relatively well established, the selective autophagic degradation of mitochondria has only recently begun to receive significant attention. An important step toward elucidating the mechanism by which defective mitochondria are selected and degraded is the establishment of conditions under which mitophagy is induced. This review covers our current understanding of mitophagy in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its modes of activation, with a focus on stationary-phase mitophagy-a form of mitophagy that holds promise as a potential quality control mechanism.