By contrast, in other systems, such as the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila and some filamentous fungi, the evidence suggests that selective digestion of whole nuclei occurs as part of a program of cellular development or mechanism of infection ( Akematsu et al., 2010 Shoji et al., 2010 He et al., 2012). Studies in both yeast and mammalian cells support the contention that selective digestion of portions of the nucleus can occur in order to maintain nuclear integrity ( Roberts et al., 2003 Park et al., 2009 Mijaljica et al., 2012). Therefore, just as for other cellular organelles, we would anticipate ‘surveillance’ by processes that act to minimize nuclear damage by removal of damaged or non-functional components. Maintenance of nuclear structure and organization is essential for the vitality of most cell types ( Mijaljica et al., 2010). The cell nucleus is a cellular organelle whose raison d'etre is the maintenance and expression of the genome. We will also briefly discuss the emerging links between nucleophagy and human disease. In turn, we will consider nucleophagy processes in the lower eukaryotes, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, filamentous fungi Aspergillus and Magnaporthe oryzae and the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila, and finally in mammalian cells. In this Cell Science at a Glance article and the accompanying poster, we summarize the similarities and differences between the divergent modes of nucleophagy that have been described to date, emphasizing, where possible, the molecular mechanism, the membrane interactions and rearrangements, and the nature of the nucleus-derived material that is degraded. A selective form of autophagy, known as nucleophagy, can be used to accomplish the degradation of nucleus-derived material. Under certain circumstances, the removal of damaged or non-essential parts of the nucleus, or even an entire nucleus, is crucial in order to promote cell longevity and enable proper function.