Autophagy mediates nonselective RNA degradation in starving yeast

During nitrogen starvation, a nonselective bulk degradation of cytosolic proteins and organelles including ribosomes, termed macro-autophagy (hereafter termed autophagy), is induced. The precise mechanism of RNA degradation by this pathway has not been yet elucidated. In this issue ofthe The EMBO Journal, Huang etal characterize an autophagy-dependent RNA catabolism in yeast and identify the enzymes responsible for the degradation process.