Autophagy mutant cells accumulates proteins involved in cell proliferation desiccation and rehydration in Physcomitrium patens

It has been widely accepted that autophagy contributes to cellular survival against stress, since autophagy-deficient (atg) mutants are predominantly more sensitive to environmental stress, including nutrient starvation, than their wild-type (WT) counterparts. However, Physcomitrium atg mutants are able to survive from desiccation stress compared with WT under presence of ABA.

The molecular mechanism is not understood. In this study, comparative proteomic and microarray expression analysis were performed for WT and atg mutant protonemal colonies of Physcomitrium. Integrated analysis showed that signaling pathways involved in MYB, MAPK were activated, and that protective proteins such as LEA and antioxidant-related proteins were not differentially expressed between WT and atg mutant.