| Abstract: | Autophagy, Cvt pathway and pexophagy belong to membrane transport routes, which are able to enwrap into double-membrane vesicles and deliver to the vacuole various cytosolic material, including organelles. Pexophagy is a selective pathway of vacuolar degradation of redundant peroxisomes and can be induced by certain changes of carbon sources in yeasts. Here we review the most general molecular mechanisms of autophagic transport routes with a special emphasis on their features and functions in the yeast peroxisome degradation. Special attention has been also paid to differences in functioning of the basic autophagic machinery during micro- and macroautophagic peroxisome degradation in methylotrophic yeasts. The requirements of autophagic pathways for the sources of membrane for transport vesicle formation are also analyzed. Finally, we point to the gaps in our understanding of peroxisome degradation, which should be filled for complete integration of pexophagy into the network of autophagic transport routes to the vacuole in yeast. |
