Biological complexity: removing cellular garbage (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, September 04, 2020, 21:10 (1541 days ago) @ David Turell
edited by David Turell, Friday, September 04, 2020, 21:46

This is part of the error control system as it removes from the cells waste and improperly formed protein molecules:

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-scientists-reveal-key-formation-recycling.html

"Autophagy, from the Greek for "self-eating," is an essential process that isolates and recycles cellular components under conditions of stress or when resources are limited. Cargoes such as misfolded proteins or damaged organelles are captured in a double membrane-bound compartment called the autophagosome and targeted for degradation. A fundamental question concerns precisely how these "garbage bags" form in the cell. Scientists have now reconstructed the first steps in the formation of autophagosomes. They show that tiny vesicles loaded with the pro-tein Atg9 act as the seed from which the autophagosome emerges.

"Autophagosomes first form as cup-shaped membranes in the cell, which then grow to engulf the cellular material designated for destruction. The formation of these membranes is catalyzed by a complex machinery of proteins.

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"One of the factors is Atg9, a protein whose importance in the process was known, but whose role was not clear. Atg9 is found in small intracellular vesi-cles. Researchers Justyna Sawa-Makarska, Verena Baumann and Nicolas Coudevylle from the Martens lab now show that they form a platform on which the autophagy machinery can assemble to build the autophagosome. "Atg9 vesicles are abundant in the cell, which means they can be rapidly recruited when autophagosomes are needed," explains group leader Sascha Martens.

"Cells encapsulate cargo in vesicles, so that they can be correctly transported and degraded in a chemical environment that is different to the one normally found in cells. Autophagosomes therefore consist of a double membrane made of phospholipids. This greasy envelope creates a waterproof package that separates material from the aqueous surroundings of the cell and marks it for degradation. However, Atg9 vesicles do not supply the bulk of the lipids to the growing autophagosome.

"The biogenesis of autophagosome involves numerous proteins. By isolating and characterizing 21 of these components, the scientists have been able to rebuild parts of the autophagy machinery in the "test tube" – an arduous process that took Sascha Martens and his team almost ten years. "With this approach we could reconstitute the early steps of autophagosome biogenesis in a controlled manner," he says. With the elaborate toolkit the Martens lab has developed, the scientists now aim to unravel the next steps in the biogenesis of the autophagosome."

Comment: This study describes a series of precise protein molecular steps. The system had to be in place with the appearance of the first cells, for continuous garbage accumulation would lead to cell death. Only design fits. This thought applies to origin of life. The very first cells that lived had to have a garbage system as an integral part of the cell. And obviously this is a very important part of God's error control editing system