Mitophagy during development and stress in C. elegans

Abstract

Mitochondria is a key cellular organelle, which is tightly supervised by multiple oversight cellular mechanisms regulating mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondria maintenance and/or elimination. Selective autophagy of mitochondria, id est mitophagy, is one of the cellular mechanisms controlling mitochondria homeostasis. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has recently emerged as a powerful model organism to study the roles and functions of mitophagy. We present here the current knowledge on cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the selective elimination of mitochondria by autophagy in C. elegans in the context of developmental processes, aging and adaptive responses to various stresses.

Keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans; aging; heteroplasmy; mitochondria; mitochondria homeostasis; mitophagy; paternal mitochondria elimination; stress.