Macroautophagy (or autophagy) is a conserved degradative pathway that has been implicated in a number of biological processes, including organismal aging, innate immunity, and the progression of human cancers. This pathway was initially identified as a cellular response to nutrient deprivation and is essential for cell survival during these periods of starvation. Autophagy is highly regulated and is under the control of a number of signaling pathways, including the Tor pathway, that coordinate cell growth with nutrient availability. These pathways appear to target a complex of proteins that contains the Atg1 protein kinase. The data here show that autophagy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is also controlled by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) pathway. Elevated levels of PKA activity inhibited autophagy and inactivation of the PKA pathway was sufficient to induce a robust autophagy response. We show that in addition to Atg1, PKA directly phosphorylates Atg13, a conserved regulator of Atg1 kinase activity. This phosphorylation regulates Atg13 localization to the preautophagosomal structure, the nucleation site from which autophagy pathway transport intermediates are formed. Atg13 is also phosphorylated in a Tor-dependent manner, but these modifications appear to occur at positions distinct from the PKA phosphorylation sites identified here. In all, our data indicate that the PKA and Tor pathways function independently to control autophagy in S. cerevisiae, and that the Atg1/Atg13 kinase complex is a key site of signal integration within this degradative pathway.cAMP-dependent protein kinase ͉ macroautophagy ͉ stationary phase ͉ Tor protein kinase M acroautophagy (hereafter autophagy) is a highlyconserved membrane trafficking pathway that is responsible for the turnover of bulk cytoplasmic protein and organelles (1, 2). This pathway was initially identified as a cellular response to nutrient deprivation (3, 4). However, recent studies indicate that autophagy is involved in a wide variety of physiological processes, including tissue remodeling during development, the removal of protein aggregates, and innate immune responses (5, 6). During autophagy, an isolation membrane emanates from a nucleation site that is known as the preautophagosomal structure (PAS) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the phagophore assembly site in mammals (7,8). This double membrane encapsulates nearby cytoplasm and ultimately targets it to the vacuole/ lysosome for degradation. The breakdown products are then recycled to allow for the synthesis of the macromolecules needed for survival during the period of starvation (9). The cellular components mediating autophagy were initially described in S. cerevisiae, and orthologs of many of these Atg proteins have since been identified in other eukaryotes (10, 11).The flux through the autophagy pathway is tightly controlled by multiple signaling pathways, including the Tor pathway, that are responsible for coordinating cell growth with nutrient availability. One of the key targets of this control a...

Summary In response to stress, eukaryotic cells accumulate mRNAs and proteins at discrete sites, or foci, in the cytoplasm. However, the mechanisms regulating foci formation, and the biological function of the larger ribonucleoprotein (RNP) assemblies, remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a key regulator of the assembly of Processing-bodies (P-bodies), an RNP complex implicated in mRNA processing and translation. The data suggest that PKA specifically inhibits the formation of the larger P-body aggregates by directly phosphorylating Pat1, a conserved constituent of these foci that functions as a scaffold during the assembly process. Finally, we present evidence indicating that P-body foci are required for the long-term survival of stationary phase cells. This work therefore highlights the general relevance of RNP foci in quiescent cells, and provides a framework for the study of the many RNP assemblies that form in eukaryotic cells.

A variety of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules form in eukaryotic cells to regulate the translation, decay, and localization of the encapsulated messenger RNA (mRNAs). The work here examined the assembly and function of two highly conserved RNP structures, the processing body (P body) and the stress granule, in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These granules are induced by similar stress conditions and contain translationally repressed mRNAs and a partially overlapping set of protein constituents. However, despite these similarities, the data indicate that these RNP complexes are independently assembled and that this assembly is controlled by different signaling pathways. In particular, the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) was found to control P body formation under all conditions examined. In contrast, the assembly of stress granules was not affected by changes in either PKA or TORC1 signalling activity. Both of these RNP granules were also detected in stationary-phase cells, but each appears at a distinct time. P bodies were formed prior to stationary-phase arrest, and the data suggest that these foci are important for the long-term survival of these quiescent cells. Stress granules, on the other hand, were not assembled until after the cells had entered into the stationary phase of growth and their appearance could therefore serve as a specific marker for the entry into this quiescent state. In all, the results here provide a framework for understanding the assembly of these RNP complexes and suggest that these structures have distinct but important activities in quiescent cells. EUKARYOTIC cells contain a number of membrane-bound compartments that partition the cytoplasm into distinct functional units. Proteins that act in similar pathways are often localized to the same compartment whereas those with competing activities are sequestered within different environments. Interestingly, recent data suggest that particular proteins and RNAs are also concentrated in what can be thought of as nontraditional compartments that lack a boundary membrane. These ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes, or granules, are more dynamic in nature and are found in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm of the cell (Anderson and Kedersha 2006;Mao et al. 2011;Weber and Brangwynne 2012). The formation of these granules can be induced by a variety of cues, including an exposure to stress or specific developmental transitions. In some cases, the underlying reasons for this reorganization of protein and RNA are known. For example, the polar granules present in germ cells store maternal mRNAs that are translated following fertilization (Schisa et al. 2001;Leatherman and Jongens 2003). However, for most RNP granules, the physiological role of the larger aggregate-like structures remains unclear. Nonetheless, the prevalence and evolutionary conservation of these complexes suggests that they serve important functions in the cell.Two of the better-characterized cytoplasmic RNPs are the processing bodies (P bodies) and stress granules...

Longevity is dictated by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. One of the key mechanisms to regulate life-span extension is the induction of protein chaperones for protein homeostasis. Ectopic activation of the unfolded protein response of the endoplasmic reticulum (UPRER) specifically in neurons is sufficient to enhance organismal stress resistance and extend life span. Here, we find that this activation not only promotes chaperones but also facilitates ER restructuring and ER function. This restructuring is concomitant with lipid depletion through lipophagy. Activation of lipophagy is distinct from chaperone induction and is required for the life-span extension found in this paradigm. Last, we find that overexpression of the lipophagy component, ehbp-1, is sufficient to deplete lipids, remodel ER, and promote life span. Therefore, UPR induction in neurons triggers two distinct programs in the periphery: the proteostasis arm through protein chaperones and metabolic changes through lipid depletion mediated by EH domain binding protein 1 (EHBP-1).