Targeted Protein Degradation

In plants, autophagy is dynamically activated and inactivated under a vast range of environmental stimuli. Our lab investigates how at a molecular level plants sense and translate abiotic stress signals such as heat-, salt- and light-stress into adaptive autophagic responses. Combining state-of-the-art biochemistry and cell biology tools, such as mass-spectrometry coupled immuno-pulldown and laser confocal microscopy, we characterize the stress-dependent plasticity of the ATG1 kinase complex in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. This highly dynamic protein interaction hub regulates the initiation of autophagy upon integration of upstream signaling. Providing a binding platform for selective autophagy receptors, the ATG1 kinase complex plays a significant role in selective autophagy. We anticipate our research to contribute to our understanding of how plants fine tune selective autophagy subroutines in response to environmental stimuli.