8-nitro-cGMP--a new player in antibacterial autophagy.

In this issue of Molecular Cell, Ito et al. (2013) identify 8-nitro-cGMP as a new autophagy inducer mediating the clearance of invading bacteria in a mechanism that depends on protein S-guanylation and Lys63-linked ubiquitination. This study reveals an additional link between the innate immune response and autophagy.