How mitochondria damaged in distal axons are cleared is not understood. Zheng et al. find that axonal mitochondria return to neuronal soma for mitophagy after ischemic insult. These spatial features of neuronal mitophagy provide insight into how neurons control mitochondrial quality under pathological conditions.

Peroxisomes import proteins with a C-terminal SKL sequence by a poorly understood mechanism. Romano et al. use Xenopus egg extracts to study peroxisome import in vitro. The novel assay recapitulates import in vivo and provides mechanistic insights.

This work provides direct evidence that heterotrimeric G proteins can be activated in vivo by a cytoplasmic factor instead of by a GPCR. Specifically, DAPLE, a nonreceptor protein bearing an evolutionarily conserved Gα-binding and -activating (GBA) motif, triggers apical cell constriction during neurulation in Xenopus laevis embryos via G protein–dependent signaling.