Review: Selective degradation of peroxisome by autophagy in plants: Mechanisms, functions, and perspectives

Peroxisome, a single-membrane organelle conserved in eukaryotic, is responsible for a series of oxidative reactions with its specific enzymatic components. A counterbalance between peroxisome biogenesis and degradation is crucial for the homeostasis of peroxisomes. One such degradation mechanism, termed pexophagy, is a type of selective autophagic process to deliver the excess/damaged peroxisomes into the vacuole. In plants, pexophagy is involved in the remodeling of seedlings and quality control of peroxisomes. Here, we describe the recent advance in plant pexophagy, with a focus to discuss the key regulators in plants in comparison with those in yeast and mammals, as well as future directions for pexophagy studies in plants.