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Many biomolecules undergo liquid-liquid phase separation to form liquid-like condensates that mediate diverse cellular functions.sup.1,2. Autophagy is able to degrade such condensates using autophagosomes--double-membrane structures that are synthesized de novo at the pre-autophagosomal structure (PAS) in yeast.sup.3-5. Whereas Atg proteins that associate with the PAS have been characterized, the physicochemical and functional properties of the PAS remain unclear owing to its small size and fragility. Here we show that the PAS is in fact a liquid-like condensate of Atg proteins. The autophagy-initiating Atg1 complex undergoes phase separation to form liquid droplets in vitro, and point mutations or phosphorylation that inhibit phase separation impair PAS formation in vivo. In vitro experiments show that Atg1-complex droplets can be tethered to membranes via specific protein-protein interactions, explaining the vacuolar membrane localization of the PAS in vivo. We propose that phase separation has a critical, active role in autophagy, whereby it organizes the autophagy machinery at the PAS. The pre-autophagosomal structure in yeast is a liquid-like condensate of Atg proteins whose phase separation may have a critical, active role in autophagy., Author(s): Yuko Fujioka [sup.1] , Jahangir Md. Alam [sup.1] , Daisuke Noshiro [sup.1] [sup.2] , Kazunari Mouri [sup.3] , Toshio Ando [sup.2] , Yasushi Okada [sup.3] [sup.4] , Alexander I. [...]

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation system that contributes to cellular homeostasis. Autophagosome formation is a landmark event in autophagy, which sequesters and delivers cytoplasmic components to the lysosome for degradation. Based on selectivity, autophagy can be classified into bulk and selective autophagy, which are mechanistically distinct from each other, especially in the requirement of cargos for autophagosome formation. Recent studies revealed that liquid-like biomolecular condensates, which are formed through liquid–liquid phase separation, regulate the autophagosome formation of both bulk and selective autophagy. Here, we focus on recent findings on the involvement of biomolecular condensates in autophagy regulation and discuss their significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Autophagosome formation in yeast entails starvation-induced assembly of the pre-autophagosomal structure (PAS), in which multiple Atg1 complexes (composed of Atg1, Atg13, and the Atg17-Atg29-Atg31 subcomplex) are initially engaged. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the multimeric assembly of these complexes remain unclear. Using structural and biological techniques, we herein demonstrate that Atg13 has a large intrinsically disordered region (IDR) and interacts with two distinct Atg17 molecules using two binding regions in the IDR. We further reveal that these two binding regions are essential not only for Atg1 complex assembly in vitro, but also for PAS organization in vivo. These findings underscore the structural and functional significance of the IDR of Atg13 in autophagy initiation: Atg13 provides intercomplex linkages between Atg17-Atg29-Atg31 complexes, thereby leading to supramolecular self-assembly of Atg1 complexes, in turn accelerating the initial events of autophagy, including autophosphorylation of Atg1, recruitment of Atg9 vesicles, and phosphorylation of Atg9 by Atg1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagosome formation, a landmark event in autophagy, is accomplished by the concerted actions of Atg proteins. Among all Atg proteins, Atg1 kinase in yeast and its counterpart in higher eukaryotes, ULK1 kinase, function as the most upstream factor in this process and mediate autophagy initiation. In this review, we summarize current knowledge of the structure, molecular function, and regulation of Atg1 family kinases in the initiation of autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assembly of the preautophagosomal structure (PAS) is essential for autophagy initiation in yeast. Starvation-induced dephosphorylation of Atg13 is required for the formation of the Atg1-Atg13-Atg17-Atg29-Atg31 complex (Atg1 complex), a prerequisite for PAS assembly. However, molecular details underlying these events have not been established. Here we studied the interactions of yeast Atg13 with Atg1 and Atg17 by X-ray crystallography. Atg13 binds tandem microtubule interacting and transport domains in Atg1, using an elongated helix-loop-helix region. Atg13 also binds Atg17, using a short region, thereby bridging Atg1 and Atg17 and leading to Atg1-complex formation. Dephosphorylation of specific serines in Atg13 enhanced its interaction with not only Atg1 but also Atg17. These observations update the autophagy-initiation model as follows: upon starvation, dephosphorylated Atg13 binds both Atg1 and Atg17, and this promotes PAS assembly and autophagy progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atg12 is conjugated to Atg5 through enzymatic reactions similar to ubiquitination. The Atg12-Atg5 conjugate functions as an E3-like enzyme to promote lipidation of Atg8, whereas lipidated Atg8 has essential roles in both autophagosome formation and selective cargo recognition during autophagy. However, the molecular role of Atg12 modification in these processes has remained elusive. Here, we report the crystal structure of the Atg12-Atg5 conjugate. In addition to the isopeptide linkage, Atg12 forms hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions with Atg5, thereby fixing its position on Atg5. Structural comparison with unmodified Atg5 and mutational analyses showed that Atg12 modification neither induces a conformational change in Atg5 nor creates a functionally important architecture. Rather, Atg12 functions as a binding module for Atg3, the E2 enzyme for Atg8, thus endowing Atg5 with the ability to interact with Atg3 to facilitate Atg8 lipidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy requires ubiquitin-like Atg8 and Atg12 conjugation systems, where Atg7 has a critical role as the sole E1 enzyme. Although Atg7 recognizes two distinct E2s, Atg3 and Atg10, it is not understood how Atg7 correctly loads these E2s with their cognate ubiquitin-like proteins, Atg8 and Atg12. Here, we report the crystal structures of the N-terminal domain of Atg7 bound to Atg10 or Atg3 of thermotolerant yeast and plant homologs. The observed Atg7-Atg10 and Atg7-Atg3 interactions, which resemble each other but are quite distinct from the canonical E1-E2 interaction, makes Atg7 suitable for transferring Atg12 to Atg10 and Atg8 to Atg3 by a trans mechanism. Notably, in vitro experiments showed that Atg7 loads Atg3 and Atg10 with Atg8 and Atg12 in a nonspecific manner, which suggests that cognate conjugate formation in vivo is not an intrinsic quality of Atg7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atgl6 interacts with the Atgl2-Atg5 protein conjugate through its N-terminal domain and self-assembles through its coiled-coil domain (CCD). Formation of the Atgl2-Atg5Atgl6 complex is essential for autophagy, the bulk degradation process conserved among most eukaryotes. Here, we report the crystal structures of full-length Saccharomyces cerevisiae Atgl6 at 2.8 A resolution and its CCD at 2.5 A resolution. The CCD and full length Atgl6 each exhibit an extended α-helix, 90 and 130 A, respectively, and form a parallel coiled -coil dimer in the crystals. Although the apparent molecular weight of Atgl6 observed by gel-filtration chromatography suggests that Atgl6 is tetrameric, an analytical ultracentrifugation study showed Atgl6 as a dimer in solution, consistent with the crystal structure. Evolutionary conserved surface residues clustered at the C-terminal half of Atgl6 CCD were shown to be crucial for autophagy. These results will give a structural basis for understanding the molecular functions and significance of Atgl6 in autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic and biochemical analyses using yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed that two ubiquitin-like conjugation systems, the Atg8 and Atg12 systems, exist and play essential roles in autophagy, the bulk degradation system conserved in yeast and mammals. These conjugation systems are also conserved in Arabidopsis thaliana; however, further detailed study of plant ATG conjugation systems in relation to those in yeast and mammals is needed. Here, we describe the in vitro reconstitution of Arabidopsis thaliana (At) ATG8 and ATG12 conjugation systems using purified recombinant proteins. AtATG12b was conjugated to AtATG5 in a manner dependent on AtATG7, AtATG10 and ATP, whereas AtATG8a was conjugated to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) in a manner dependent on AtATG7, AtATG3, and ATP. Other AtATG8 homologs (AtATG8b-i) were similarly conjugated to PE. The AtATG8 conjugates were deconjugated by AtATG4a and AtATG4b. These results show that the ATG conjugation systems in Arabidopsis are very similar to those in yeast and mammals. Intriguingly, in vitro analyses showed that AtATG12-AtATG5 conjugates accelerated the formation of AtATG8-PE, whereas AtATG3 inhibited the formation of AtATG12-AtATG5 conjugates. The in vitro conjugation systems reported here will afford a tool with which to investigate the crosstalk mechanism between two conjugation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phagocyte NADPH oxidase is a multisubunit enzyme responsible for the production of reactive oxygen species. p47phox is a cytosolic component of the NADPH oxidase and plays an important role in the assembly of the activated complex. The structural determination of the tandem SH3 domains of p47phox is crucial for elucidation of the molecular mechanism of the activation of p47phox. We determined the X-ray crystal structure of the tandem SH3 domains with the polybasic/autoinhibitory region (PBR/AIR) of p47phox. The GAPPR sequence involved in PBR/AIR forms a left-handed polyproline type-II helix (PPII) and interacts with the conserved SH3 binding surfaces of the SH3 domains simultaneously. These SH3 domains are related by a 2-fold pseudosymmetry axis at the centre of the binding groove and interact with the single PPII helix formed by the GAPPR sequence with opposite orientation. In addition, a number of intra-molecular interactions among the SH3 domains, PBR/AIR and the linker tightly hold the architecture of the tandem SH3 domains into the compact structure and stabilize the autoinhibited form synergistically. Phosphorylation of the serine residues in PBR/AIR could destabilize and successively release the intra-molecular interactions. Thus, the overall structure could be rearranged from the autoinhibitory conformation to the active conformation and the PPII ligand binding surfaces on the SH3 domains are now unmasked, which enables their interaction with the target sequence in p22phox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atg16 is a scaffold protein that interacts with Atg12-Atg5 protein conjugates via its N-terminal domain and self-assembles via its coiled-coil domain, thus forming a multimeric Atg12-Atg5-Atg16 complex that is essential for autophagy. The coiled-coil domain of Atg16 was expressed, purified and crystallized. The crystal belonged to space group P41212 or P43212, with unit-cell parameters a = 127.7, c = 77.8 Å. Self-rotation functions and volume-to-weight ratio values suggested that the crystal may contain six molecules per asymmetric unit. Since the domain does not contain a methionine residue, selenomethionine-labelled crystals were prepared with a leucine-to-methionine substitution in the coiled-coil domain and these crystals were used for the collection of single-wavelength anomalous dispersion data to 2.5 Å resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy mediates the bulk degradation of cytoplasmic components in lysosomes/vacuoles. Five autophagy-related (Atg) proteins are involved in a ubiquitin-like protein conjugation system. Atg12 is conjugated to its sole target, Atg5, by two enzymes, Atg7 and Atg10. The Atg12-Atg5 conjugates form a multimeric complex with Atg16. Formation of the Atg12-Atg5-Atg16 ternary complex is crucial for the functions of these proteins on autophagy. Here, the expression, purification and crystallization of the Atg12-Atg5 conjugate bound to the N-terminal region of Atg16 (Atg16N) are reported. The Atg12-Atg5 conjugates were formed by co-expressing Atg5, Atg7, Atg10 and Atg12 in Eschericia coli. The Atg12-Atg5-Atg16N ternary complex was formed by mixing purified Atg12-Atg5 conjugates and Atg16N, and was further purified by gel-filtration chromatography. Crystallization screening was performed by the free-interface diffusion method. Using obtained microcrystals as seeds, large crystals for diffraction data collection were obtained by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystal contained one ternary complex per asymmetric unit, and diffracted to 2.6 A resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor about Sequence-specific resonance assignments of the tandem 5H3 domains.

In autophagy, which is an intracellular degradation system that is conserved among eukaryotes, degradation targets are sequestered through the de novo synthesis of a double-membrane organelle, the autophagosome, which delivers them to the lysosomes for degradation. The core autophagy machinery comprising 18 autophagy-related (Atg) proteins in yeast plays an essential role in autophagosome formation; however, the molecular role of each Atg factor and the mechanism of autophagosome formation remain elusive. Recent years have seen remarkable progress in structural biological studies on the core autophagy machinery, opening new avenues for autophagy research. This review summarizes recent advances in structural biological and mechanistic studies on the core autophagy machinery and discusses the molecular mechanisms of autophagosome formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The target of rapamycin (TOR) protein kinases, Tor1 and Tor2, form two distinct complexes (TOR complex 1 and 2) in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. TOR complex 2 (TORC2) contains Tor2 but not Tor1 and controls polarity of the actin cytoskeleton via the Rho1/Pkc1/MAPK cell integrity cascade. Substrates of TORC2 and how TORC2 regulates the cell integrity pathway are not well understood. Screening for multicopy suppressors of tor2, we obtained a plasmid expressing an N-terminally truncated Ypk2 protein kinase. This truncation appears to partially disrupt an autoinhibitory domain in Ypk2, and a point mutation in this region (Ypk2D239A) conferred upon full-length Ypk2 the ability to rescue growth of cells compromised in TORC2, but not TORC1, function. YPK2D239A also suppressed the lethality of tor2δ cells, suggesting that Ypks play an essential role in TORC2 signaling. Ypk2 is phosphorylated directly by Tor2 in vitro, and Ypk2 activity is largely reduced in tor2 δ cells. In contrast, Ypk2D239A has increased and TOR2-independent activity in vivo. Thus, we propose that Ypk protein kinases are direct and essential targetsof TORC2, coupling TORC2 to the cell integrity cascade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: E1 enzymes activate ubiquitin-like proteins and transfer them to cognate E2 enzymes. Atg7, a noncanonical E1, activates two ubiquitin-like proteins, Atg8 and Atg12, and plays a crucial role in autophagy. Here, we report crystal structures of full-length Atg7 and its C-terminal domain bound to Atg8 and MgATP, as well as a solution structure of Atg8 bound to the extreme C-terminal domain (ECTD) of Atg7. The unique N-terminal domain (NTD) of Atg7 is responsible for Atg3 (E2) binding, whereas its C-terminal domain is comprised of a homodimeric adenylation domain (AD) and ECTD. The structural and biochemical data demonstrate that Atg8 is initially recognized by the C-terminal tail of ECTD and is then transferred to an AD, where the Atg8 C terminus is attacked by the catalytic cysteine to form a thioester bond. Atg8 is then transferred via a trans mechanism to the Atg3 bound to the NTD of the opposite protomer within a dimer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nutrient starvation induces autophagy to degrade cytoplasmic materials in the vacuole/lysosomes. In the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Atg17, Atg29, and Atg31/Cis1 are specifically required for autophagosome formation by acting as a scaffold complex essential for pre-autophagosomal structure (PAS) organization. Here, we show that these proteins constitutively form an Atg17–Atg29–Atg31 ternary complex, in which phosphorylated Atg31 is included. Reconstitution analysis of the ternary complex in E. coli indicates that the three proteins are included in equimolar amounts in the complex. The molecular mass of a monomeric Atg17–Atg29–Atg31 complex is calculated at 97kDa; however, analytical ultracentrifugation shows that the molecular mass of the ternary complex is 198kDa, suggesting a dimeric complex. We propose that this ternary complex acts as a functional unit for autophagosome formation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Vitamin C (l-ascorbate) is important for antioxidative and metabolic functions in both plants and humans. Ascorbate itself is oxidized to dehydroascorbate during the process of antioxidation, and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR, EC 1.8.5.1) re-reduces the oxidized ascorbate. Therefore, this enzyme is assumed to be critical for ascorbate recycling. Here we show that the expression of rice DHAR in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana enhanced resistance to salt stress. Salt tolerance was remarkably improved despite slight increases in DHAR activity and total ascorbate. This study provides direct evidence for the importance of DHAR in salt tolerance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Reversible modification of Atg8 with phosphatidylethanolamine is crucial for autophagy, the bulk degradation system conserved in eukaryotic cells. Atg4 is a novel cysteine protease that processes and deconjugates Atg8. Herein, we report the crystal structure of human Atg4B (HsAtg4B) at 1.9-Å resolution. Despite no obvious sequence homology with known proteases, the structure of HsAtg4B shows a classical papain-like fold. In addition to the papain fold region, HsAtg4B has a small α/β-fold domain. This domain is thought to be the binding site for Atg8 homologs. The active site cleft of HsAtg4B is masked by a loop (residues 259–262), implying a conformational change upon substrate binding. The structure and in vitro mutational analyses provide the basis for the specificity and catalysis of HsAtg4B. This will enable the design of Atg4-specific inhibitors that block autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atg8 is a unique ubiquitin-like protein that is covalently conjugated with a phosphatidylethanolamine through reactions similar to ubiquitination and plays essential roles in autophagy. Atg7 is the E1 enzyme for Atg8, and it activates the C-terminal Gly116 of Atg8 using ATP. Here, we report the crystal structure of Atg8 bound to the C-terminal domain of Atg7 in an unprecedented mode. Atg8 neither contacts with the central β-sheet nor binds to the catalytic site of Atg7, both of which were observed in previously reported Atg7–Atg8 structures. Instead, Atg8 binds to the C-terminal α-helix and crossover loop, thereby changing the autoinhibited conformation of the crossover loop observed in the free Atg7 structure into a short helix and a disordered loop. Mutational analyses suggested that this interaction mode is important for the activation reaction. We propose that Atg7 recognizes Atg8 through multiple steps, which would be necessary to induce a conformational change in Atg7 that is optimal for the activation reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Multicellular organisms have multiple homologs of the yeast ATG8 gene, but the differential roles of these homologs in autophagy during development remain largely unknown. Here we investigated structure/function relationships in the two C. elegans Atg8 homologs, LGG-1 and LGG-2. lgg-1 is essential for degradation of protein aggregates, while lgg-2 has cargo-specific and developmental-stage-specific roles in aggregate degradation. Crystallography revealed that the N-terminal tails of LGG-1 and LGG-2 adopt the closed and open form, respectively. LGG-1 and LGG-2 interact differentially with autophagy substrates and Atg proteins, many of which carry a LIR motif. LGG-1 and LGG-2 have structurally distinct substrate binding pockets that prefer different residues in the interacting LIR motif, thus influencing binding specificity. Lipidated LGG-1 and LGG-2 possess distinct membrane tethering and fusion activities, which may result from the N-terminal differences. Our study reveals the differential function of two ATG8 homologs in autophagy during C. elegans development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vacuolar protein sorting 30 (Vps30)/autophagy-related protein 6 (Atg6) is a common component of two distinct phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase complexes. In complex I, Atg14 links Vps30 to Vps34 lipid kinase and exerts its specific role in autophagy, whereas in complex II, Vps38 links Vps30 to Vps34 and plays a crucial role in vacuolar protein sorting. However, the molecular role of Vps30 in each pathway remains unclear. Here, we report the crystal structure of the carboxyl-terminal domain of Vps30. The structure is a novel globular fold comprised of three β-sheet-α-helix repeats. Truncation analyses showed that the domain is dispensable for the construction of both complexes, but is specifically required for autophagy through the targeting of complex I to the pre-autophagosomal structure. Thus, the domain is named the β-α repeated, autophagy-specific (BARA) domain. On the other hand, the N-terminal region of Vps30 was shown to be specifically required for vacuolar protein sorting. These structural and functional investigations of Vps30 domains, which are also conserved in the mammalian ortholog, Beclin 1, will form the basis for studying the molecular functions of this protein family in various biological processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy is a bulk degradation process in eukaryotic cells; autophagosomes enclose cytoplasmic components for degradation in the lysosome/vacuole. Autophagosome formation requires two ubiquitin-like conjugation systems, the Atg12 and Atg8 systems, which are tightly associated with expansion of autophagosomal membrane. Previous studies have suggested that there is a hierarchy between these systems; the Atg12 system is located upstream of the Atg8 system in the context of Atg protein organization. However, the concrete molecular relationship is unclear. Here, we show using an in vitro Atg8 conjugation system that the Atg12-Atg5 conjugate, but not unconjugated Atg12 or Atg5, strongly enhances the formation of the other conjugate, Atg8-PE. The Atg12-Atg5 conjugate promotes the transfer of Atg8 from Atg3 to the substrate, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), by stimulating the activity of Atg3. We also show that the Atg12-Atg5 conjugate interacts with both Atg3 and PE-containing liposomes. These results indicate that the Atg12-Atg5 conjugate is a ubiquitin-protein ligase (E3)-like enzyme for Atg8-PE conjugation reaction, distinctively promoting protein-lipid conjugation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atg3 is an E2-like enzyme that catalyzes the conjugation of Atg8 and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). The Atg8-PE conjugate is essential for autophagy, which is the bulk degradation process of cytoplasmic components by the vacuolar/lysosomal system. We report here the crystal structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Atg3 at 2.5-Å resolution. Atg3 has an α/β-fold, and its core region is topologically similar to canonical E2 enzymes. Atg3 has two regions inserted in the core region, one of which consists of ∼80 residues and has a random coil structure in solution and another with a long a-helical structure that protrudes from the core region as far as 30 Å. In vivo and in vitro analyses suggested that the former region is responsible for binding AtgT, an E1-like enzyme, and that the latter is responsible for binding Atg8. A sulfate ion was bound near the catalytic cysteine of Atg3, suggesting a possible binding site for the phosphate moiety of PE. The structure of Atg3 provides a molecular basis for understanding the unique lipidation reaction that Atg3 carries out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phagocyte NADPH oxidase is a multisubunit enzyme responsible for the generation of superoxide anions (O2...) that kill invading microorganisms, p47phox is a cytosolic subunit of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase, which plays a crucial role in the assembly of the activated NADPH oxidase complex. The molecular shapes of the p47phox tandem SH3 domains either with or without a polybasic/autoinhibitory region (PBP/AIR) at the C terminus were studied using small angle x-ray scattering. The tandem SH3 domains with PBR/AIR formed a compact globular structure, whereas the tandem SH3 domains lacking the PBP/AIR formed an elongated structure. Alignment anisotropy analysis by NMR based on the residual dipolar couplings revealed that the tandem SH3 domains with PBP/AIR were in good agreement with a globular module corresponding to the split half of the intertwisted dimer in crystalline state. The structure of the globular module was elucidated to represent a solution structure of the tandem SH3 domain in the autoinhibited form, where the PBR/AIR bundled the tandem SH3 domains and the linker forming a closed structure. Once PBP/AIR is released by phosphorylation, rearrangements of the SH3 domains may occur, forming an open structure that binds to the cytoplasmic proline-rich region of membrane-bound p22phox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The superoxide-producing phagocyte NADPH oxidase can be reconstituted in a cell-free system. The activity of NADPH oxidase is dependent on FAD, but the physiological status of FAD in the oxidase is not fully elucidated. To clarify the role of FAD in NADPH oxidase, FAD-free full-length recombinant p47phox, p67phox, p40phox, and Rac were prepared, and the activity was reconstituted with these proteins and purified cytochrome b55s (cyt b558) with different amounts of FAD. A remarkably high activity, over 100 μmol/s/μmol heme, was obtained in the oxidase with purified cyt b558, ternary complex (p47–p67-p40phox), and Rac. From titration with FAD of the activity of NADPH oxidase reconstituted with purified FAD-devoid cyt b558, the dissociation constant Kd of FAD in cyt b558 of reconstituted oxidase was estimated as nearly I nM. We also examined addition of FAD on the assembly process in reconstituted oxidase. The activity was remarkably enhanced when FAD was present during assembly process, and the efficacy of incorporating FAD into the vacant FAD site in purified cyt b55s increased, compared when FAD was added after assembly processes. The absorption spectra of reconstituted oxidase under anaerobiosis showed that incorporation of FAD into cyt b558 recovered electron flow from NADPH to heme. From both Kd values of FAD and the amount of incorporated FAD in cyt b558 of reconstituted oxidase, in combination with spectra, we propose the model in which the Kd values of FAD in cyt b558 is changeable after activation and FAD binding works as a switch to regulate electron transfer in NADPH oxidase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clearance of biomolecular condensates by selective autophagy is thought to play a crucial role in cellular homeostasis. However, the mechanism underlying selective autophagy of condensates and whether liquidity determines a condensate's susceptibility to degradation by autophagy remain unknown. Here, we show that the selective autophagic cargo aminopeptidase I (Ape1) undergoes phase separation to form semi-liquid droplets. The Ape1-specific receptor protein Atg19 localizes to the surface of Ape1 droplets both in vitro and in vivo , with the "floatability" of Atg19 preventing its penetration into droplets. In vitro reconstitution experiments reveal that Atg19 and lipidated Atg8 are necessary and sufficient for selective sequestration of Ape1 droplets by membranes. This sequestration is impaired by mutational solidification of Ape1 droplets or diminished ability of Atg19 to float. Taken together, we propose that cargo liquidity and the presence of sufficient amounts of autophagic receptor on cargo are crucial for selective autophagy of biomolecular condensates. • Ape1 undergoes phase separation to form semi-liquid droplets • Floatability of Atg19 mediates condensation of Atg19 on the surface of Ape1 droplets • Atg19 and Atg8-PE are sufficient for selective membrane sequestration of Ape1 droplets • Liquidity of Ape1 droplets is important for selective autophagy Selective autophagy contributes to cellular homeostasis through clearance of biomolecular condensates. Yamasaki et al. find that the liquidity of protein condensates is a critical determinant for its selective membrane sequestration and that selective autophagy of liquid droplets is mediated by a receptor with floatability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]