Selective cell cleaning processes preserved across evolution

This review outlines seven major evolutionarily conserved selective autophagy pathways.

• Selective autophagy is a regulated process for recognizing and degrading specific cellular components.
• The seven pathways discussed include mitophagy, xenophagy, pexophagy, lysophagy, ER-phagy, Golgiphagy, and ribophagy.
• Data from four model organisms—mammals, Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae—are analyzed to understand these pathways.
• Core molecular machinery for selective autophagy involves specific receptors that recognize cargo and facilitate its capture into autophagosomes.

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