A critical role for autophagy in surviving the metabolic stress at birth has also been demonstrated in mammals: mice deficient in Atg5 (autophagy protein 5, an E3 ubiquitin ligase necessary for autophagosomal elongation) survive foetal development, but die within one day after birth, exhibiting severe hypoglycaemia and hypolipidaemia2. Here, ATG5 is linked to Hypoglycemia.