# Peroxisome biogenesis, dynamics, and degradation - Administrative Supplement

> **NIH NIH R35** · RICE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $29,422

## Abstract

Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research
 Summary of parent award
R35GM130338: 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:** 10614753
- **Project number:** 3R35GM130338-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** RICE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Bonnie Bartel
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $29,422
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-01-01 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10614753

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10614753, Peroxisome biogenesis, dynamics, and degradation - Administrative Supplement (3R35GM130338-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-15 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10614753. Licensed CC0.

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