title: Biogenesis and function of peroxisomes and glycosomes.
abstract: Peroxisomes of higher eukaryotes, glycosomes of kinetoplastids, and glyoxysomes of plants are related microbody organelles that perform differing metabolic functions tailored to their cellular environments. The close evolutionary relationship of these organelles is most clearly evidenced by the conservation of proteins involved in matrix protein import and biogenesis. The glycosome can be viewed as an offshoot of the peroxisomal lineage with additional metabolic functions, specifically glycolysis and purine salvage. Within the parasitic protozoa, only kinetoplastids have been conclusively demonstrated to possess glycosomes or indeed any peroxisome-like organelle. The importance of glycosomal pathways and their compartmentation emphasizes the potential of the glycosome and glycosomal proteins as drug targets.
authors.affiliation: Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, 4 Nickerson St., 98177, Seattle, WA, USA. mparsons@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parsons
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Furuya
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kessler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007891:Leishmania / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008830:Microbodies / Q000502:physiology*; D020675:Peroxisomes / Q000502:physiology*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D014345:Trypanosoma / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins