ATG1 — Neurospora crassa

Summary

NCU00188, designated ATG1 (apg-1) in Neurospora crassa, encodes a serine/threonine protein kinase (EC 2.7.11.1) containing an Atg1-like domain and a protein kinase domain. This gene is associated with autophagy, including macroautophagy, mitophagy, ER-phagy, and autophagic cell death, as well as the regulation of autophagy. It is linked to conidium germination, positive regulation of conidium formation, appressorium formation, mating, spore germination, and protein transport. ATG1 is also associated with cellular responses to nitrogen and potassium ion starvation, glycogen metabolism, and the phagophore assembly site (PAS) and vacuole-IM contact site. Phenotypic associations include abnormal colony size, delayed autophagy and mitophagy, increased necrotic cell death, decreased cell cycle progression, and absent meiosis. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to nitrogen and sugar content, as well as altered virulence.