Encyclopedia > Peroxisome

  Article Content

Peroxisome

Peroxisomes are ubiquitous subcellular organelles in eukaryotes. They consist of a surrounding membrane that separates them from the cytosol (the internal fluid of the cell). Peroxisomes were discovered by Christian de Duve[?] in 1965. Unlike lysosomes, peroxisomes are not formed in the Golgi apparatus, but self-replicate by dividing.

One of the main functions of peroxisomes is to detoxify the cell by splitting hydrogen peroxide. They contain the enzyme catalase. Catalase converts H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide, a toxic byproduct of cellular metabolism) to H2O and O2, with 4H2O2 → 4H2O + 2O2.

Peroxisomes also catalyze the first two steps in the synthesis of ether phospholipids, which are later used to build membranes. In humans, peroxisomes are also responsible for oxidation of long-chain fatty acids[?]. Peroxisomes also contain other oxidative enzymes such as D-amino acid oxidase[?] and urease oxidase[?].

See also: organelle
Back to: biology



All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

 
  Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!
 
 
  
  Featured Article
Shoreham, New York

... out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 17.7% from 25 to 44, 36.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 44 ...

 
 
 
This page was created in 24.7 ms