Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2025

Live Cell Imaging of Early Autophagy Events: Omegasomes and Beyond
Published on: July 27, 2013
Autophagic structures revealed by cryo-electron tomography: new clues about autophagosome biogenesis
Hana Popelka1, Daniel J Klionsky1
1Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Abstract:
Transitions from the early to late phagophore, which occur to engulf cytoplasmic material within an autophagosome for macroautophagic/autophagic degradation, involve dynamic ultrastructural changes that are not fully understood. A recent study combined cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) with extensive computational analysis to get a better insight into autophagosome biogenesis in situ within yeast cells. This approach disclosed new information on the shape of autophagic structures, their contacts with surrounding organelles, membrane sources, and mechanisms of transition. Together, these results provide new directions for autophagy research, and show the potential of cryo-ET in cell biology.Abbreviations: Cryo-ET, cryo-electron tomography; ER, endoplasmic reticulum; IMDa, intermembrane distance in the autophagosome; IMDp, intermembrane distance in the phagophore; LD, lipid droplets.
Related Concept Videos
Autophagy
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction
Electron Tomography
Electron tomography can be performed either in TEM or STEM (scanning transmission...
Delivery Pathways to the Lysosome
Endocytosis
In endocytosis, the cell membrane takes up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding medium. Clathrin-mediated...
Cryo-electron Microscopy
Autophagic Cell Death
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and...
Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies

