Members of this entry are serine/threonine-protein kinases and includes ATG1 from yeasts, Unc-51 from C. elegans and ULK1-2 from humans. ATG1 is required for vesicle formation in autophagy and the cytoplasm-to-vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway [1,2]. Unc-51 is important for axonal elongation and axonal guidance [4] and ULK1-2 are involved in autophagy in response to starvation [3]. They consist of a kinase domain at the N-terminal (Pfam:PF00069) and two tandem microtubule interacting and transport (MIT) domains (tMIT) at the C-terminal. MIT domains are known to mediate protein-protein interactions. In ATG1, MIT domains mediate the interaction with ATG13 [1]. In ULK1-2, MIT domains control the regulatory function and localization of the proteins and also mediate interactions with additional autophagy proteins [3]. This is the C-terminal MIT domain (MIT2).

1: Structural basis of starvation-induced assembly of the autophagy initiation complex. Fujioka Y, Suzuki SW, Yamamoto H, Kondo-Kakuta C, Kimura Y, Hirano H, Akada R, Inagaki F, Ohsumi Y, Noda NN; Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2014;21:513-521. PMID:24793651

2: ATG genes involved in non-selective autophagy are conserved from yeast to man, but the selective Cvt and pexophagy pathways also require organism-specific genes. Meijer WH, van der Klei IJ, Veenhuis M, Kiel JA; Autophagy. 2007;3:106-116. PMID:17204848

3: Kinase-inactivated ULK proteins inhibit autophagy via their conserved C-terminal domains using an Atg13-independent mechanism. Chan EY, Longatti A, McKnight NC, Tooze SA; Mol Cell Biol. 2009;29:157-171. PMID:18936157

4: The autophagy-related kinase UNC-51 and its binding partner UNC-14 regulate the subcellular localization of the Netrin receptor UNC-5 in Caenorhabditis elegans. Ogura K, Goshima Y; Development. 2006;133:3441-3450. PMID:16887826