Figure 6.

Sty1 plays a role in transcriptional upregulation of atg genes after nitrogen starvation. (A) Expression of some atg genes is dependent on Sty1. MM cultures of strains CC10 (WT), CC14 (tsc1Δ), CC13 (sty1Δ) and CC111 (tsc1Δ sty1Δ) were collected at the logarithmic phase (unt) and 2 h after switching to nitrogen-starved medium; total RNA was isolated and the transcripts specific for atg1, atg4, atg6, atg9, atg22 and atg13 were quantified by RT-qPCR. Amplification with tfb2 primers was used as a normalization control. Each column represents the mean value and SD (standard deviation), calculated from four biological replicates. Asterisks represent significant differences, *p˂0.01 (Welch’s t-test). (B) Scheme suggesting that Sty1 does not induce autophagy through a direct effect on Atg13-Atg1-Atg2 phosphorylation levels, but rather through the transcriptional upregulation of atg genes. See text for details.