Publications and grants 

Emily C. Marron, Jonathan Backues, Andrew M. Ross and Steven K. Backues (2024) Accurate automated segmentation of autophagic bodies in yeast vacuoles using cellpose 2.0  Autophagy https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2024.2353458  or Download PDF of author's accepted manuscript

Mitchell D. Meyer, Jasmine Winzeler, Sophia M. Taylor, Alex Kilgore, Kimberly Edicha, Chase Chitwood, Zachary Spearin, S. K. Nadia Rahman Silvia, Ronith Chakraborty, Jesse E. Smith, Bridget Kennedy, Carson Zois, Hayley Cawthon, Mukiri Gilruth and Steven K. Backues (2022) Mapping Critical Residues in ATG11’s Coiled-Coil 2 Domain that Block Multiple Interactions and Disrupt Selective Autophagy Front. Cell Dev. Biol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.775364

Hayley Cawthon, Ronith Chakraborty, Jacquelyn R. Roberts, and Steven K. Backues (2018) Control of autophagosome size and number by Atg7. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 503:651-656.  Download PDF

Yuchen Feng, Steven K. Backues, Misuzu Baba, Jin-Mi Heo, J. Wade Harper, and Daniel J. Klionsky. Phosphorylation of Atg9 regulates movement to the phagophore assembly site and the rate of autophagosome formation. (2016) Autophagy 12:648-58.  

Steven K. Backues, Daniel P. Orban, Amélie Bernard, Kushal Singh*, Yang Cao and Daniel J. Klionsky (2015)

Atg23 and Atg27 Act at the Early Stages of Atg9 Trafficking in S. cerevisiae. Traffic 16:172-190  Download PDF

Meiyan Jin, Ding He, Steven K. Backues Mallory A. Freeburg, Xu Liu, John K. Kim, and Daniel J. Klionsky (2014) Transcriptional regulation by Pho23 modulates the frequency of autophagosome formation Current Biology 24:1314-1322

Steven K. Backues, Dachua Chen, Jishou Ruan, Zhiping Xie, and Daniel J. Klionsky (2014) Estimating the size and number of autophagic bodies by electron microscopy Autophagy 10:155-64  Download PDF     Supplemental Files (zip)       Tutorial Videos (zip)

Steven K Backues, Melinda A. Lynch-Day, Daniel J. Klionsky (2012) The Ume6-Sin3-Rpd3 complex regulates ATG8 transcription to control autophagosome size. Autophagy 8:1835-6   Download PDF   

Steven K. Backues and Daniel J. Klionsky (2012) Atg11: A Rab-dependent, coiled-coil membrane protein that acts as a tether for autophagy. Autophagy 8:1275-8 Download PDF 

Clinton R. Bartholomew, Tsukasa Suzuki, Zhou Du, Steven K. Backues, Meiyan Jin, Melinda A. Lynch-Day, Midori Umekawa, Avani Kamath, Mantong Zhao, Zhiping Xie, Ken Inoki, Daniel J. Klionsky (2012) Ume6 transcription factor is part of a signaling cascade that regulates autophagy. PNAS 109:11206-10

Steven K. Backues and Daniel J. Klionsky (2011) Autophagy gets in on the regulatory act.  J Mol Cell Biol 3:76-7  Download PDF 

John M. Smith, Michelle E. Leslie, Samuel J. Robinson, David A. Korasick, Tong Zhang, Steven K. Backues , Peter V. Cornish, Abraham J. Koo, Sebastian Y. Bednarek, Antje Heese (2014). Loss of Arabidopsis thaliana Dynamin-Related Protein 2B Reveals Separatation of Innate Immune Signaling Pathways PLOS Pathogens DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004578

Steven K. Backues, David A. Korasic, Antje Heese and Sebastian Y. Bednarek. (2010) The Arabidopsis Dynamin-Related Protein 2 (DRP2) family is essential for gametophytic development. Plant Cell  22:3218-31    Download PDF 

Steven K. Backues and Sebastian Y. Bednarek. (2010). Arabidopsis Dynamin-Related Protein 1A polymers bind, but do not tubulate, liposomes. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 393:734-39 Download PDF

Catherine A. Konopka, Steven K. Backues and Sebastian Y. Bednarek.  (2008) Dynamics of Arabidopsis Dynamin-Related Protein 1C and a Clathrin Light Chain at the Plasma Membrane Plant Cell 20:1363-80  

Sebastian Y. Bednarek and Steven K. Backues (2010) Plant dynamin related protein families DRP1 and DRP2 in plant development. Biochem. Soc. Trans. 38:797-806

Steven K. Backues, Catherine A. Konopka, Colleen M. McMichael  and Sebastian Y. Bednarek. (2007) Bridging the Divide Between Cytokinesis and Cell Expansion. Cur. Opin. Plant Biology 10:607-615  Download PDF

PhD Thesis

Steven K. Backues (2010). Analysis of Dynamin-Related Protein 1 and 2 (DRP1 and DRP2) Families.  Download PDF 

NSF RUI Grant #2243163 "Tools and Approaches for Investigating the Basic Mechanisms of Autophagy"  Feb. 2023 to Jan. 2026, EMU, $414,390.  Role: PI

NSF RUI Grant #1613653 “Scaffold or Assembly Line: How Does Atg11 Organize its Binding Partners for the Initiation of Selective Autophagy?”  August 2016 to August 2019, EMU, $297,384.  Role: PI

NIH NIGMS F32 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Service Award Individual Fellowship GM101748-02, “Analysis of Autophagosome Formation” U of M, June 2012 to June 2014.

Also thanks to EMU and the GameAbove foundation for many smaller awards to me and my students that have helped to make this research possible.