Physiological role of endosomal Microautophagy in Drosophila

We have developed a genetic model in Drosophilafor eMI, a form of autophagy during which substrates are taken up into multivesicular bodies for degradation. Using a KFERQ-tagged fluorescent biosensor, we have identified an eMI-like pathway in the genetically easily tractable model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Firstly, we are characterizing the physiological role of eMI with a focus on what types of cellular stress activate eMI. Our data suggest that oxidative stress and DNA damage, but not ER stress can elicit an eMI response in an Hsc70-4 and ESCRT machinery dependent manner, implying a selectivity of the process. Further, we are trying to understand the mechanism of stress induced eMI by identifying novel regulators of eMI pathway.