It is time to drop the glyoxysome name. Recent functional genomics analysis together with cell biology studies emphasize the unifying features of peroxisomes rather than their differences. Plant peroxisomes contain 300 or more proteins, the functions of which are dominated by activities related to fatty acid oxidation (>70 enzymes). By comparison, relatively few proteins are committed to metabolism of reactive oxygen species (∼20) and to photorespiration (∼10). Analysis of triglyceride metabolism in Arabidopsis seedlings now indicates that only two enzymes (isocitrate lyase and malate synthase) potentially distinguish glyoxysomes from other peroxisomes. Future research is best served by focusing on the common features of peroxisomes to establish how these dynamic organelles contribute to energy metabolism, development and responses to environmental challenges.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	arabidopsis thaliana, peroxisomes,
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Plant biology
Research Field:	Plant physiology
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
UTAS Author:	Smith, SM (Professor Steven Smith)
ID Code:	101501
Year Published:	2008
Web of Science® Times Cited:	65
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2015-06-25
Last Modified:	2015-09-25
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