Pierre Vigié

Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles that provide essential metabolic functions and represent the major bioenergetic hub of eukaryotic cells. Mitochondrial dysfunctions are implicated in numerous diseases. Therefore, maintenance of a healthy pool of mitochondria is required for cellular function and survival. Mitochondrial quality control is achieved through several mechanisms that act at different levels: proteases and chaperones, the Ubiquitin-Proteasome-System (UPS) and mitophagy. Multiple mitophagy-involved programs operate independently or undergo crosstalk, and require modulated receptor activities at the outer membranes of mitochondria. In mammals, different mitophagy effectors have been characterized such as the receptors NIX, BNIP3, FUNDC1, BCL2L13, cardiolipin and the PINK1/Parkin pathway. Here we discuss the different molecular mechanisms of these mitophagy involved pathways.

Mitophagy, the selective degradation of mitochondria by autophagy, is a central process essential to maintain cell homeostasis. It is implicated in the clearance of superfluous or damaged mitochondria and requires specific proteins and regulators to perform. In yeast, Atg32, an outer mitochondrial membrane protein, interacts with the ubiquitin-like Atg8 protein, promoting the recruitment of mitochondria to the phagophore and their sequestration within autophagosomes. Atg8 is anchored to the phagophore and autophagosome membranes thanks to a phosphatidylethanolamine tail. In yeast, several phosphatidylethanolamine synthesis pathways have been characterized, but their contribution to autophagy and mitophagy are unknown. Through different approaches, we show that Psd1, the mitochondrial phosphatidylserine decarboxylase, is involved only in mitophagy induction in nitrogen starvation, whereas Psd2, located in vacuole/Golgi apparatus/endosome membranes, is required preferentially for mitophagy induction in the stationary phase of growth but also to a lesser extent for nitrogen starvation-induced mitophagy. Our results suggest that Δpsd1 mitophagy defect in nitrogen starvation may be due to a failure of Atg8 recruitment to mitochondria.

Mitophagy, the process that degrades mitochondria selectively through autophagy, is involved in the quality control of mitochondria in cells grown under respiratory conditions. In yeast, the presence of the Atg32 protein on the outer mitochondrial membrane allows for the recognition and targeting of superfluous or damaged mitochondria for degradation. Post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation are crucial for the execution of mitophagy. In our study we monitor the stability of Atg32 protein in the yeast S. cerevisiae and show that Atg32 is degraded under normal growth conditions, upon starvation or rapamycin treatment. The Atg32 turnover can be prevented by inhibition of the proteasome activity, suggesting that Atg32 is also ubiquitinated. Mass spectrometry analysis of purified Atg32 protein revealed that at least lysine residue in position 282 is ubiquitinated. Interestingly, the replacement of lysine 282 with alanine impaired Atg32 degradation only partially in the course of cell growth, suggesting that additional lysine residues on Atg32 might also be ubiquitinated. Our results provide the foundation to further elucidate the physiological significance of Atg32 turnover and the interplay between mitophagy and the proteasome.