The function of peroxisomes in the Cyanidiaceae

Abstract

The term microbody was coined by Rhodin in 1954 to describe structures in mammalian cells. Although in the following years similar structures had been observed in plant tissue, the term microbody was adopted not before 1966 when Mollenhauer et al. showed the similarities of these structures in animals and plants. Microbodies are ultrastructural vesicles measuring usually from 0.2 to 0.6 μm, in some instances, however, up to 5 μm in diameter. On electron micrographs these organelles are visible as ovoid or elongated shaped vesicles, surrounded by a single membrane which usually encloses electron dense material. Any ultrastructural objects that shows these structural features can be called a microbody without implying any particular function. If it has been established that such a microbody contains the enzyme catalase and at least one H₂O₂-producing oxidase it is referred to as peroxisome. In higher plants all microbodies examined contain catalase and an oxidase, thus the terms microbody and peroxisome are generally used as synonyms.