Thematic issue on how autophagosomes find their targets

Abstract

The prompt for this thematic issue came from a burst of nearly simultaneous publications on the role of autophagic adaptors and molecular earmarks on targets for selective autophagy. This included a range of autophagic cargo from protein aggregates to whole organelles and even intracellular microbes. The continuing motivation emanating from this initial prompt was to distill the points of convergence and common principles and extract the less immediately obvious functional, physiological and evolutionary connections. Another core purpose was to give a side-by-side update and follow-up analysis by the major protagonists of this recent growth, and in some cases provide a forum for bringing up potential controversies. The result is a comprehensive compendium of reviews, addenda and puncta that should give the reader in one place a summary, an update, and an insider glimpse into the ongoing and future studies in this important area of how autophagy accomplishes the goal of finding its targets, and what consequence that has on cellular function.