Peroxisome biogenesis and function: History and Discovery of peroxins.- Human cell lines to study peroxisome biogenesis.- Mouse models to study peroxisome biogenesis.- Metabolic interaction between peroxisome and Mitochondria.- Peroxisomal Diseases:The Zellweger spectrum.- Molecular basis.- PEX11beta.- Peroxisome morphology in pathologies.- Other peroxisome-related disorders.- New technologies applied to study peroxisomes: Bioinformatics.- Imaging in plant and peroxules.- Tools to study peroxisomes as signaling platform: oxidative stress studies and antiviral innate immunity.- Proteomic approach. Protein transport across the peroxisomal membrane: The matrix protein import complex in yeast.- Protein transport in plant peroxisomes.- Concept Exportomer.- Factors involved in ubiquitination/deubiquitination of PEX5.- Peroxisome dynamics: Trafficking of the peroxisome biogenesis factor PEX3 through the ER.- Role of PEX3 and PEX19 in peroxisome membrane biogenesis.- Vesicles, reticulon and ER-to-peroxisome contact sites.- Pex11 proteins and their alpha-helix.- Molecular complex coordinating peroxisome morphogenesis.- Dynamin-related proteins. Specific degradation through pexophagy: Principle of selective organelle degradation: Factors involved in pexophagy in the yeast Pichia pastoris.

In eukaryotes, lipid metabolism requires the function of peroxisomes. These multitasking organelles are also part of species-specific pathways such as the glyoxylate cycle in yeast and plants or the synthesis of ether lipid in mammals. Proteins required for the biogenesis of peroxisomes typically assemble in large molecular complexes, which participate in membrane formation, protein transport, peroxisome duplication and - inheritance during cell division. Peroxisomal function is essential for life. Mutations in PEX genes, encoding for biogenesis factors, are often associated with lethal disorders. The association of peroxisomes with other organelles suggests an extensive participation in organellar crosstalk. This book represents a state-of-the-art review in the field of peroxisome research encompassing the cell and molecular biology of peroxisome biogenesis and its diseases, the protein complexes involved in this process and the modern technologies applied to study them. The book is intended for graduate students, researchers and lecturers in biochemistry, molecular and cell biology with a biomedical background.