The autophagy protein Atg8 regulates autophagosome biogenesis and mediates cargo recruitment in different
types of selective autophagy, but the molecular mechanisms mediating Atg8 functions during autophagosome
biogenesis have been unclear. A study published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology now shows that lipidated Atg8 possesses physicochemical activity that regulates membrane morphology, which underlies efficient autophagosome biogenesis.