Members of this family of phosphoproteins are involved in cytoplasm to vacuole transport (Cvt), and more specifically in Cvt vesicle formation. They are probably involved in the switching machinery regulating the conversion between the Cvt pathway and autophagy. Finally, ATG13 is also required for glycogen storage [1][2][3].

1: Analyses of APG13 gene involved in autophagy in yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Funakoshi T, Matsuura A, Noda T, Ohsumi Y; Gene. 1997;192:207-213. PMID:9224892

2: Isolation and characterization of autophagy-defective mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Tsukada M, Ohsumi Y; FEBS Lett. 1993;333:169-174. PMID:8224160

3: Apg13p and Vac8p are part of a complex of phosphoproteins that are required for cytoplasm to vacuole targeting. Scott SV, Nice DC 3rd, Nau JJ, Weisman LS, Kamada Y, Keizer-Gunnink I, Funakoshi T, Veenhuis M, Ohsumi Y, Klionsky DJ; J Biol Chem. 2000;275:25840-25849. PMID:10837477