A new insight into the lens: cytosolic PLAAT phospholipases degrade organelles to make the lens transparent.

All membrane-bound organelles are degraded during the terminal differentiation of lens fiber cells. How these organelles are degraded has been a long-standing question in biology. We recently revealed that PLAAT (phospholipase A and acyltransferase)-family phospholipases degrade organelles in the lens independently of macroautophagy. Here, we discuss the mechanism and physiological relevance of this new mode of intracellular degradation.