Disruption of autophagy results in constitutive oxidative stress in Arabidopsis

Plant cells frequently encounter oxidative stress, leading to oxidative damage and inactivation of proteins. We have recently demonstrated that oxidative stress induces autophagy in Arabidopsis seedlings in an AtATG18a-dependent manner and that RNAi-AtATG18a transgenic lines, which are defective in autophagosome formation, are hypersensitive to reactive oxygen species. Analysis of protein oxidation indicated that oxidized proteins are degraded in the vacuole after uptake by autophagy, and this degradation is impaired in RNAi-AtATG18a lines. Our results also suggest that in the absence of a functional autophagy pathway, plants are under increased oxidative stress, even under normal growth conditions.