Question

Who discovered glyoxysomes?

Answer 1

Glyoxysomes:

1. Glyoxysomes are microbodies which occur only in fat rich plant cell, where they take part in β-oxidation of fats and perform glyoxylate cycle.
2. Glyoxysomes are a type of peroxisomes found in plants and few filamentous fungi.

Discovered by:

1. Glyoxisomes were discovered by Beevers and Breidenbach.
2. Bill Breidenbach was Beevers’ postdoctoral fellow, he demonstrated that the enzymes for the glyoxylate cycle were found in a separate organelle, which they named as glyoxysomes.
3. They are particularly found in fat storage tissues of germinating seeds (peanuts, soybeans etc.) in plants.

Importance:

1. It helps in fatty acid oxidation, glyoxylate cycle and gluconeogenesis.
2. They contain enzymes (citrate synthase, isocitrate lyase and malate synthase etc.) which are responsible for beta-oxidation of fatty.
3. It also contains enzymes which produce intermediate products for the synthesis of sugars by gluconeogenesis.