The protein kinase Atg1 is a key player in macroautophagy/autophagy, but how its activity is regulated in various organisms is inadequately understood. Our recent study showed that in the fission yeast  Schizosaccharomyces pombe , Atg1 kinase activity depends on Atg11, but not Atg13, Atg17, or Atg101. Notably, a 62 amino acid region of  S. pombe  Atg11 is sufficient for activating Atg1. This region is composed of two parts: an Atg1-binding domain and a homodimerization domain. Atg11 uses this region to dimerize Atg1. Dimerized Atg1 is activated through cis-autophosphorylation.