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¹ Signalling Programme, Babraham Institute, Babraham, Cambridge CB2 4AT, England, UK
² Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1PD, England, UK
³ Cell Biology Programme, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany

Correspondence to Nicholas T. Ktistakis: nicholas.ktistakis{at}bbsrc.ac.uk

Autophagy is the engulfment of cytosol and organelles by double-membrane vesicles termed autophagosomes. Autophagosome formation is known to require phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI(3)P) and occurs near the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but the exact mechanisms are unknown. We show that double FYVE domain–containing protein 1, a PI(3)P-binding protein with unusual localization on ER and Golgi membranes, translocates in response to amino acid starvation to a punctate compartment partially colocalized with autophagosomal proteins. Translocation is dependent on Vps34 and beclin function. Other PI(3)P-binding probes targeted to the ER show the same starvation-induced translocation that is dependent on PI(3)P formation and recognition. Live imaging experiments show that this punctate compartment forms near Vps34-containing vesicles, is in dynamic equilibrium with the ER, and provides a membrane platform for accumulation of autophagosomal proteins, expansion of autophagosomal membranes, and emergence of fully formed autophagosomes. This PI(3)P-enriched compartment may be involved in autophagosome biogenesis. Its dynamic relationship with the ER is consistent with the idea that the ER may provide important components for autophagosome formation.

E.L. Axe and S.A. Walker contributed equally to this paper.

Abbreviations used in this paper: ATG, autophagy related; BFA, brefeldin A; DFCP1, double FYVE domain–containing protein 1; DM, domain mutant; EEA1, early endosome antigen 1; MDC, monodansylcadaverine; PAS, preautophagosomal structure; PDI, protein disulfide isomerase; PI 3-kinase, phosphoinositide 3-kinase; PI(3)P, phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate; TIRFM, total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy; WT, wild type.

© 2008 Axe et al. This article is distributed under the terms of an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike–No Mirror Sites license for the first six months after the publication date (see http://www.jcb.org/misc/terms.shtml). After six months it is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/).

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