A genomic screen for yeast mutants defective in mitophagy

Mitochondria autophagy (mitophagy) is the process of selective degradation of mitochondria that has an important role in mitochondrial quality control. To gain insight into the molecular mechanism of mitophagy, we screened a yeast knockout library for strains that are defective in mitophagy. We found 32 strains that showed a complete or partial block of mitophagy. One of the genes identified, YLR356W, is required for mitophagy, but not for macroautophagy or other types of selective autophagy. The deletion of YLR356W partially inhibits mitophagy during starvation, whereas there is almost complete inhibition at post-log phase. Accordingly, we hypothesize that Ylr356w is required to detect or present aged or dysfunctional mitochondria when cells reach the post-log phase.