Plant peroxisomes: recent discoveries in functional complexity, organelle homeostasis, and morphological dynamics

• Plant peroxisomes house a diverse and expanding array of metabolic functions.
• Peroxisome biogenesis involves a suite of peroxin proteins.
• Plant peroxisomes can be degraded via pexophagy.
• Dynamic peroxules facilitate peroxisome interactions with other organelles.

Peroxisomes are essential for life in plants. These organelles house a variety of metabolic processes that generate and inactivate reactive oxygen species. Our knowledge of pathways and mechanisms that depend on peroxisomes and their constituent enzymes continues to grow, and in this review we highlight recent advances in understanding the identity and biological functions of peroxisomal enzymes and metabolic processes. We also review how peroxisomal matrix and membrane proteins enter the organelle from their sites of synthesis. Peroxisome homeostasis is regulated by specific degradation mechanisms, and we discuss the contributions of specialized autophagy and a peroxisomal protease to the degradation of entire peroxisomes and peroxisomal enzymes that are damaged or superfluous. Finally, we review how peroxisomes can flexibly change their morphology to facilitate inter-organellar contacts.

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