Phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate joins the dance of plant autophagosome formation

In plants, macroautophagy/autophagy is a key mechanism that contributes to their ability to cope with a wide range of environmental constraints such as drought, nutrient starvation or pathogen resistance. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms of plant autophagy, and notably that of autophagosome formation, remain poorly understood. As the starting point of our recent paper, we considered the potential functional contribution of lipids in the numerous membrane-remodeling steps involved in this process. By combining biochemistry, genetics, cell biology and high-resolution 3D imaging, we unraveled the function of the lipid phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PtdIns4P) in autophagy in Arabidopsis thaliana, thus providing novel insights into the assembly of autophagosomes in plant cells.