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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.05.13.724962

Au_Sus: A tiered consensus census of human autophagy genes

Guerra-Andres, M.·Piedra-Macias, A.·Garcia-Lopez, I.·Jimenez-Garcia, P.·Marino, G.·Fernandez, A. F.
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Abstract

Autophagy is a critical cellular process, yet its genomic definition remains inconsistent across digital repositories. This lack of standardisation hinders reproducibility in high-throughput studies and clinical research. Here, we present Au_Sus, a high-confidence human autophagy census established through a frequency-based majority consensus of seven primary databases and literature sources. After rigorous manual curation and nomenclature standardisation, we defined a tiered framework: Maxim_Au (2,581 genes), Au_Sus (the 201-gene core consensus), and Minim_Au (77 universal genes). Functional enrichment and protein-protein interaction analysis confirm that Au_Sus captures a highly integrated and purified autophagic machinery, with significant associations to neurodegeneration and oncology. Furthermore, an analysis of nearly 100 published cancer gene signatures revealed profound functional dilution, with 60% of signature genes absent from our consensus. These findings suggest that many of these models incorporate peripheral stress markers rather than core autophagic effectors. Hence, Au_Sus (freely accessible at ausis.uniovi.es) provides a reliable, ready-to-use benchmark to standardise the study of autophagy in health and disease.

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Guerra-Andres, M., Piedra-Macias, A., Garcia-Lopez, I., Jimenez-Garcia, P., Marino, G., Fernandez, A. F.. 2026-05-13. Au_Sus: A tiered consensus census of human autophagy genes. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.05.13.724962

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