Silencing of RpATG8 impairs the biogenesis of maternal autophagosomes in vitellogenic oocytes, but does not interrupt follicular atresia in the insect vector Rhodnius prolixus.

ABSTRACT: Follicular atresia is the mechanism by which the oocyte contents are degraded during oogenesis in response to stress conditions, allowing the energetic resources stored in the developing oocytes to be reallocated to optimize female fitness. Autophagy is a conserved intracellular degradation pathway where double-membrane vesicles are formed around target organelles leading to their degradation after lysosome fusion. The autophagy-related protein 8 (ATG8) is conjugated to the autophagic membrane and has a key role in the elongation and closure of the autophagosome. Here we identified one single isoform of ATG8 in the genome of the insect vector of Chagas Disease Rhodnius prolixus (RpATG8) and found that it is highly expressed in the ovary during vitellogenesis. Accordingly, autophagosomes we

SUBMITTER: Pereira J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7004382 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature