# Peroxisome biogenesis, dynamics, and degradation

> **NIH NIH R35** · RICE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $75,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Peroxisome Biogenesis, Dynamics, and Degradation
 Peroxisomes are eukaryotic organelles that are essential for life in plants and metazoans. Peroxisomes
sequester various oxidative reactions, thereby improving metabolic efficiency while protecting cytosolic
constituents from oxidative damage. Although our knowledge about peroxisome function and dysfunction is
increasing, mechanistic understanding of how these critical organelles are formed, maintained, and turned
over remains incomplete. The proposed studies aim to fill these gaps by answering the following questions:
How do pre-peroxisomes originate? How do peroxisomal membrane complexities develop? How can
chemical probes and genetic suppressors modulate peroxisome function? How are obsolete or damaged
peroxisomes targeted for turnover? Does the ubiquitination machinery on the peroxisomal membrane
moonlight in tasks beyond receptor recycling? These questions will be addressed using Arabidopsis
thaliana; the peroxisomal functions, small size, and facile genetics of this model plant allow straightforward
impairment and enhancement of peroxisomal processes in an intact multicellular organism. Moreover, the
relatively large size of plant peroxisomes (compared to yeast and mammalian peroxisomes) offers unique
opportunities to decipher peroxisome biogenesis and membrane intricacies using live-cell imaging. The
proposed studies also will train the next generation of scientists in state-of-the-art genetic, biochemical, and
cell biological approaches.
 Peroxisomal defects underlie the peroxisome biogenesis disorders, a group of inherited recessive
syndromes that are generally fatal in infancy or childhood and are characterized by diverse symptoms
including poor growth, multi-organ dysfunctions, hearing and vision loss, and psychomotor retardation.
Peroxisome dysfunction also contributes to common age-related diseases (e.g., neurodegeneration, type 2
diabetes) that are exacerbated by oxidative stress. The proposed studies will exploit unique aspects of plant
peroxisomes while taking advantage of knowledge from fungal and mammalian systems to provide insights
that are likely to apply throughout eukaryotes. Continued development of evolutionarily distinct systems with
unique advantages for elucidating peroxisome biology will advance hypotheses and mechanistic models to
expand and refine our understanding of this essential organelle.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10134618
- **Project number:** 3R35GM130338-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** RICE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Bonnie Bartel
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $75,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-01-01 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10134618

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10134618, Peroxisome biogenesis, dynamics, and degradation (3R35GM130338-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10134618. Licensed CC0.

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