Arabidopsis peroxisome proteomics

authored by

John D. Bussell, Christof Behrens, Wiebke Ecke, Holger Eubel

Abstract

The analytical depth of investigation of the peroxisomal proteome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has not yet reached that of other major cellular organelles such as chloroplasts or mitochondria. This is primarily due to the difficulties associated with isolating and obtaining purified samples of peroxisomes from Arabidopsis. So far only a handful of research groups have been successful in obtaining such fractions. To make things worse, enriched peroxisome fractions frequently suffer from significant organellar contamination, lowering confidence in localization assignment of the identified proteins. As with other cellular compartments, identification of peroxisomal proteins forms the basis for investigations of the dynamics of the peroxisomal proteome. It is therefore not surprising that, in terms of functional analyses by proteomic means, peroxisomes are lagging considerably behind chloroplasts or mitochondria. Alternative strategies are needed to overcome the obstacle of hard-to-obtain organellar fractions. This will help to close the knowledge gap between peroxisomes and other organelles and provide a full picture of the physiological pathways shared between organelles. In this review, we briefly summarize the status quo and discuss some of the methodological alternatives to classic organelle proteomic approaches.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Plant Genetics

External Organisation(s)

University of Western Australia

Type

Review article

Journal

Frontiers in Plant Science

Volume

4

ISSN

1664-462X

Publication date

24.04.2013

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Plant Science

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2013.00101 (Access: Open)