Peroxisomes are globular organelles, of approximately 1 microm in diameter, that are found ubiquitously in eukaryotic cells. In higher plants, peroxisomes have been believed to play a pivotal role in three metabolic pathways: lipid breakdown, photorespiration and H2O2-detoxificaton. However, recent progress using Arabidopsis mutants has suggested that peroxisomes have more diverse functions than are known at present. Extensive studies using genetic and post-genomic approaches will renovate our present understanding of the functions of peroxisomes in plants.

中文翻译：

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进入植物过氧化物酶体研究的新时代。

过氧化物酶体是直径约1微米的球状细胞器，在真核细胞中普遍存在。在高等植物中，过氧化物酶体被认为在三种代谢途径中起关键作用：脂质分解，光呼吸和H2O2-排毒。然而，使用拟南芥突变体的最新进展表明，过氧化物酶体具有比目前已知的功能更多样化的功能。使用遗传方法和后基因组方法进行的广泛研究将更新我们对植物中过氧化物酶体功能的当前理解。