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Keeping your endosymbiont under control: the enigmatic plastid membrane ATG8ylation in Apicomplexa parasites

Sébastien Besteiro1

  • 1LPHI, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Montpellier, France.

Autophagy
|March 24, 2025
PubMed

Insights

ATG8ylation, a membrane modification process, is increasingly studied. This review highlights plastid ATG8ylation in apicomplexan parasites, a process often overlooked, and its potential evolutionary links to other ATG8ylation pathways.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Parasitology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • ATG8ylation modifies membranes in various eukaryotic systems.
  • Unconventional ATG8 conjugation to plastid membranes in apicomplexan parasites was noted over a decade ago.
  • This plastid ATG8ylation is often excluded from reviews on non-autophagosomal ATG8ylation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an overview of plastid ATG8ylation in apicomplexan parasites.
  • To discuss potential evolutionary parallels between plastid ATG8ylation and other ATG8ylation processes.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of existing studies on ATG8ylation.
  • Comparative analysis of ATG8ylation mechanisms across different organisms.

Main Results:

  • Plastid ATG8ylation in apicomplexan parasites is a distinct and under-recognized phenomenon.
  • Evidence suggests potential evolutionary links between plastid ATG8ylation and processes like LC3-associated phagocytosis.

Conclusions:

  • Plastid ATG8ylation in apicomplexan parasites warrants further investigation.
  • Exploring evolutionary origins may illuminate conserved mechanisms of ATG8ylation.
Keywords:
ATG8ylationApicomplexaapicoplastevolutionorganelle division

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