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Autophagy is essential for the degradation of mitochondria from yeast to humans. Mitochondrial autophagy in yeast is initiated when the selective autophagy scaffolding protein Atg11 is recruited to mitochondria through its interaction with the selective autophagy receptor Atg32. This also results in the recruitment of small 30 nm vesicles that fuse to generate the initial autophagosomal membrane. We demonstrate that Atg11 can bind to autophagosomal-like membranes in vitro in a curvature dependent manner via a predicted amphipathic helix. Deletion of the amphipathic helix from Atg11 results in a delay in mitophagy in yeast. Furthermore, using a novel biochemical approach we demonstrate that the interaction between Atg11 and Atg32 results in the tethering of autophagosomal-like vesicles to giant unilamellar vesicles containing a lipid composition designed to mimic the outer mitochondrial membrane. Taken together our results demonstrate an important role for autophagosomal membrane binding by Atg11 in the initiation of mitochondrial autophagy.

Background: Podcasts are a valuable educational tool that are convenient and provide on-demand learning. We launched the National Sexually Transmitted Disease Curriculum (NSTDC) Podcast in 2020 to educate health care professionals on sexually transmitted infections with an emphasis on content from peer-reviewed literature relevant to clinical practice., Methods: We describe the reach and usage data for 31 podcast episodes produced during the first 29 months. Information was obtained via Google Analytics, Apple Podcasts, the podcast hosting platform Buzzsprout, and the Health Professional Application for Training form for listeners who were registered on the NSTDC website., Results: There were more than 21,000 downloads, with an average of 686 downloads per episode. Although 85% of downloads occurred in the United States, podcast visitors were located in 57 countries. The 3 most reported professions/disciplines were registered nurse (39.0%), advanced practice nurse (22.5%), and physician (11.3%). Forty-eight percent of visitors had a primary programmatic focus of sexually transmitted diseases, 24% HIV/AIDs, and 18% primary care., Conclusion: The NSTDC Podcast is a highly utilized resource for mobile and on-demand learning for health care professionals who want to expand their knowledge on sexually transmitted infections., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest and Sources of Funding: The National STD Curriculum Podcast is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. M.S.R. received institutional research funding from Nabriva unrelated to this project, which has since ended. C.M.J. received consulting funding from GSK and Assembly Biosciences and research funding from GSK and Moderna unrelated to this project. Other authors reported no conflicts of interest related to this project., (Copyright © 2024 American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association. All rights reserved.)