proteins CALCOCO2/NDP52 and MAP1LC3/LC3 may have evolved specifically to target pathogens or pathogenic proteins for autophagic degradation. While SQSTM1/p62 targets more generic bacterial proteins containing a target motif but not related to virulence.

On the other hand, bacterial proteins from various pathogenic genera are also able to modulate autophagy. There are genus-specific patterns in the phases of autophagy that are potentially regulated by a given pathogen group. Some autophagy phases can only be modulated by particular pathogens,