Autophagy in farm animals: current knowledge and future challenges
Abstract
Autophagy (a process of cellular self-eating) is a conserved cellular degradative process that playsimportant roles in maintaining homeostasis and preventing nutritional, metabolic, and infectionmediatedstresses. Surprisingly, little attention has been paid to the role of this cellular function inspecies of agronomical interest, and the details of how autophagy functions in the development ofphenotypes of agricultural interest remain largely unexplored. Here, we first provide a brief descriptionof the main mechanisms involved in autophagy, then review our current knowledge regarding autophagyin species of agronomical interest, with particular attention to physiological functions supportinglivestock animal production, and finally assess the potential of translating the acquired knowledge toimprove animal development, growth and health in the context of growing social, economic andenvironmental challenges for agriculture.