Structure-Function Relationship for a Divergent Atg8 Protein Required for a Nonautophagic Function in Apicomplexan Parasites.

ABSTRACT: Atg8 family proteins are highly conserved eukaryotic proteins with diverse autophagy and nonautophagic functions in eukaryotes. While the structural features required for conserved autophagy functions of Atg8 are well established, little is known about the molecular changes that facilitated acquisition of divergent, nonautophagic functions of Atg8. The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum offers a unique opportunity to study nonautophagic functions of Atg8 family proteins because it encodes a single Atg8 homolog whose only essential function is in the inheritance of an unusual secondary plastid called the apicoplast. Here, we used functional complementation to investigate the structure-function relationship for this divergent Atg8 protein. We showed that the LC3-interacting region (LIR)

SUBMITTER: Walczak M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9973341 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature