Glyoxysome

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Glyoxysomes are specialized peroxisomes found in plants (particularly in the fat storage tissues of germinating seeds) and also in filamentous fungi. Seeds that contain fats and oils include corn, soybean, sunflower, peanut and pumpkin. [1] As in all peroxisomes, in glyoxysomes the fatty acids are oxidized to acetyl-CoA by peroxisomal β-oxidation enzymes. When the fatty acids are oxidized hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is produced as oxygen (O2) is consumed. [1] Thus the seeds need oxygen to germinate. Besides peroxisomal functions, glyoxysomes possess additionally the key enzymes of the glyoxylate cycle (isocitrate lyase and malate synthase) which accomplish the glyoxylate cycle bypass. [2]

Thus, glyoxysomes (as all peroxisomes) contain enzymes that initiate the breakdown of fatty acids and additionally possess the enzymes to produce intermediate products for the synthesis of sugars by gluconeogenesis. The seedling uses these sugars synthesized from fats until it is mature enough to produce them by photosynthesis.

Plant peroxisomes also participate in photorespiration and nitrogen metabolism in root nodules.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycolysis</span> Series of interconnected biochemical reactions

Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose into pyruvate and, in most organisms, occurs in the liquid part of cells. The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). Glycolysis is a sequence of ten reactions catalyzed by enzymes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peroxisome</span> Type of organelle

A peroxisome (IPA:[pɛɜˈɹɒksɪˌsoʊm]) is a membrane-bound organelle, a type of microbody, found in the cytoplasm of virtually all eukaryotic cells. Peroxisomes are oxidative organelles. Frequently, molecular oxygen serves as a co-substrate, from which hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is then formed. Peroxisomes owe their name to hydrogen peroxide generating and scavenging activities. They perform key roles in lipid metabolism and the reduction of reactive oxygen species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acetyl-CoA</span> Chemical compound

Acetyl-CoA is a molecule that participates in many biochemical reactions in protein, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Its main function is to deliver the acetyl group to the citric acid cycle to be oxidized for energy production.

Gluconeogenesis (GNG) is a metabolic pathway that results in the biosynthesis of glucose from certain non-carbohydrate carbon substrates. It is a ubiquitous process, present in plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms. In vertebrates, gluconeogenesis occurs mainly in the liver and, to a lesser extent, in the cortex of the kidneys. It is one of two primary mechanisms – the other being degradation of glycogen (glycogenolysis) – used by humans and many other animals to maintain blood sugar levels, avoiding low levels (hypoglycemia). In ruminants, because dietary carbohydrates tend to be metabolized by rumen organisms, gluconeogenesis occurs regardless of fasting, low-carbohydrate diets, exercise, etc. In many other animals, the process occurs during periods of fasting, starvation, low-carbohydrate diets, or intense exercise.

A microbody is a type of organelle that is found in the cells of plants, protozoa, and animals. Organelles in the microbody family include peroxisomes, glyoxysomes, glycosomes and hydrogenosomes. In vertebrates, microbodies are especially prevalent in the liver and kidney. Many membrane bound vesicles called microbodies that contain various enzymes, are present in both plant and animal cells

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enoyl CoA isomerase</span> Type of enzyme

Enoyl-CoA-(∆) isomerase (EC 5.3.3.8, also known as dodecenoyl-CoA- isomerase, 3,2-trans-enoyl-CoA isomerase, ∆3 ,∆2 -enoyl-CoA isomerase, or acetylene-allene isomerase, is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of cis- or trans-double bonds of coenzyme A bound fatty acids at gamma-carbon to trans double bonds at beta-carbon as below:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxaloacetic acid</span> Organic compound

Oxaloacetic acid (also known as oxalacetic acid or OAA) is a crystalline organic compound with the chemical formula HO2CC(O)CH2CO2H. Oxaloacetic acid, in the form of its conjugate base oxaloacetate, is a metabolic intermediate in many processes that occur in animals. It takes part in gluconeogenesis, the urea cycle, the glyoxylate cycle, amino acid synthesis, fatty acid synthesis and the citric acid cycle.

Fatty acid metabolism consists of various metabolic processes involving or closely related to fatty acids, a family of molecules classified within the lipid macronutrient category. These processes can mainly be divided into (1) catabolic processes that generate energy and (2) anabolic processes where they serve as building blocks for other compounds.

In biochemistry and metabolism, beta oxidation (also β-oxidation) is the catabolic process by which fatty acid molecules are broken down in the cytosol in prokaryotes and in the mitochondria in eukaryotes to generate acetyl-CoA. Acetyl-CoA enters the citric acid cycle, generating NADH and FADH2, which are electron carriers used in the electron transport chain. It is named as such because the beta carbon of the fatty acid chain undergoes oxidation and is converted to a carbonyl group to start the cycle all over again. Beta-oxidation is primarily facilitated by the mitochondrial trifunctional protein, an enzyme complex associated with the inner mitochondrial membrane, although very long chain fatty acids are oxidized in peroxisomes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glyoxylic acid</span> Chemical compound

Glyoxylic acid or oxoacetic acid is an organic compound. Together with acetic acid, glycolic acid, and oxalic acid, glyoxylic acid is one of the C2 carboxylic acids. It is a colourless solid that occurs naturally and is useful industrially.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glyoxylate cycle</span> Series of interconnected biochemical reactions

The glyoxylate cycle, a variation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, is an anabolic pathway occurring in plants, bacteria, protists, and fungi. The glyoxylate cycle centers on the conversion of acetyl-CoA to succinate for the synthesis of carbohydrates. In microorganisms, the glyoxylate cycle allows cells to use two carbons, such as acetate, to satisfy cellular carbon requirements when simple sugars such as glucose or fructose are not available. The cycle is generally assumed to be absent in animals, with the exception of nematodes at the early stages of embryogenesis. In recent years, however, the detection of malate synthase (MS) and isocitrate lyase (ICL), key enzymes involved in the glyoxylate cycle, in some animal tissue has raised questions regarding the evolutionary relationship of enzymes in bacteria and animals and suggests that animals encode alternative enzymes of the cycle that differ in function from known MS and ICL in non-metazoan species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malonyl-CoA decarboxylase</span> Class of enzymes

Malonyl-CoA decarboxylase, is found in bacteria and humans and has important roles in regulating fatty acid metabolism and food intake, and it is an attractive target for drug discovery. It is an enzyme associated with Malonyl-CoA decarboxylase deficiency. In humans, it is encoded by the MLYCD gene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycosome</span> Organelle containing glycolytic enzymes in some protists

The glycosome is a membrane-enclosed organelle that contains the glycolytic enzymes. The term was first used by Scott and Still in 1968 after they realized that the glycogen in the cell was not static but rather a dynamic molecule. It is found in a few species of protozoa including the Kinetoplastida which include the suborders Trypanosomatida and Bodonina, most notably in the human pathogenic trypanosomes, which can cause sleeping sickness, Chagas's disease, and leishmaniasis. The organelle is bounded by a single membrane and contains a dense proteinaceous matrix. It is believed to have evolved from the peroxisome. This has been verified by work done on Leishmania genetics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acyl-CoA</span> Group of coenzymes that metabolize fatty acids

Acyl-CoA is a group of coenzymes that metabolize carboxylic acids. Fatty acyl-CoA's are susceptible to beta oxidation, forming, ultimately, acetyl-CoA. The acetyl-CoA enters the citric acid cycle, eventually forming several equivalents of ATP. In this way, fats are converted to ATP, the common biochemical energy carrier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2,4 Dienoyl-CoA reductase</span> Class of enzymes

2,4 Dienoyl-CoA reductase also known as DECR1 is an enzyme which in humans is encoded by the DECR1 gene which resides on chromosome 8. This enzyme catalyzes the following reactions

Long-chain alcohol oxidase is one of two enzyme classes that oxidize long-chain or fatty alcohols to aldehydes. It has been found in certain Candida yeast, where it participates in omega oxidation of fatty acids to produce acyl-CoA for energy or industrial use, as well as in other fungi, plants, and bacteria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isocitrate lyase</span>

Isocitrate lyase, or ICL, is an enzyme in the glyoxylate cycle that catalyzes the cleavage of isocitrate to succinate and glyoxylate. Together with malate synthase, it bypasses the two decarboxylation steps of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and is used by bacteria, fungi, and plants.

Palmitoyl-CoA hydrolase (EC 3.1.2.2) is an enzyme in the family of hydrolases that specifically acts on thioester bonds. It catalyzes the hydrolysis of long chain fatty acyl thioesters of acyl carrier protein or coenzyme A to form free fatty acid and the corresponding thiol:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malate synthase</span> Class of enzymes

In enzymology, a malate synthase (EC 2.3.3.9) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction

The lactate shuttle hypothesis describes the movement of lactate intracellularly and intercellularly. The hypothesis is based on the observation that lactate is formed and utilized continuously in diverse cells under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Further, lactate produced at sites with high rates of glycolysis and glycogenolysis can be shuttled to adjacent or remote sites including heart or skeletal muscles where the lactate can be used as a gluconeogenic precursor or substrate for oxidation. The hypothesis was proposed 1985 by George Brooks of the University of California at Berkeley.

References

  1. 1 2 Graham IA (2008-01-01). "Seed storage oil mobilization". Annual Review of Plant Biology. 59 (1): 115–42. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.59.032607.092938. PMID   18444898.
  2. "Glyoxysomes: Glyoxtylate cycle and conversion of sugar". Micro B Life. 2020-09-28. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2021-02-03.