Figure 1.

Schematic diagram depicting macroautophagy in yeast and plant cells (left-hand side) and in animal cells (right-hand side). In yeast and plant cells, the autophagosome fuses to the tonoplast, creating the autophagic body inside the vacuole. The autophagic body is degraded by hydrolases, allowing reuse of metabolites. In animal cells, the autophagosome fuses with the lysosome, giving the autolysosome where the cargo (autophagic body) is hydrolyzed. The degradation of peroxisomes via macroautophagy has been confirmed in yeast, plant, and animal cells.