Peroxisomes are spherical organelles of 0.2–1.5 μm diameter that are found in all eukaryotic cells. Peroxisomes are surrounded by a single membrane and represent versatile organelles essential for various metabolic pathways. These organelles are a metabolic hub as they host numerous metabolic pathways such as β-oxidation of fatty acids and metabolism of reactive oxygen species. Plant peroxisomes function cooperatively with other organelles such as mitochondria, chloroplasts and oil bodies through contacts sites that enable exchange of metabolic products between these organelles. Peroxisomes are highly plastic and motile and move rapidly on the actin cytoskeleton. We suggested that actin is also involved in peroxisomal membrane remodelling, because we found out that peroxisomes are associated with an actin nucleating ARP2/3 complex. The goal is to uncover the mechanism of ARP2/3 association with peroxisome by means of methods of co-immunoprecipitation/protein mass spectrometry analysis and correlative light electron microscopy methods (CLEM). Identification of protein interactors and their localization co-by CLEM will allow to determine the function of actin in peroxisome membrane remodeling. In close cooperation with the Laboratory of Electron Microscopy of the Faculty of Science of Charles University, the CLEM method for plant cells study will be introduced.

Five relevant publications of the research group: 

Martinek J, Cifrová P, Vosolsobě S, Krtková J, Sikorová L, Malínská K, Mauerová Z, Leaves I, Sparkes I, Schwarzerová S: ARP2/3 complex associates with peroxisomes to participate in pexophagy in plants. bioRxiv, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.07.487451

Bellinvia E, García-González J, Cifrová P, Martinek J, Sikorová L, Havelková L, Schwarzerová K. CRISPR-Cas9 Arabidopsis mutants of genes for ARPC1 and ARPC3 subunits of ARP2/3 complex reveal differential roles of complex subunits. Sci Rep 2022 12(1):18205 doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-22982-8

Stelate A, Tihlaříková E, Schwarzerová K, Neděla V, Petrášek J. Correlative light-environmental scanning electron microscopy of plasma membrane efflux carriers of plant hormone auxin. Biomolecules 2021;11(10). DOI: 10.3390/biom11101407

García-González J, Kebrlová Š, Semerák M, Lacek J, Kotannal Baby I, Petrášek J, Schwarzerová K. Arp2/3 complex is required for auxin-driven cell expansion through regulation of auxin transporter homeostasis. Front Plant Sci 2020;11. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.00486/full

Cifrová P, Oulehlová D, Kollárová E, Martinek J, Rosero A, Žárský V, Schwarzerová K, Cvrčková F. Division of labor between two actin Nucleators—the formin FH1 and the ARP2/3 Complex—in arabidopsis epidermal cell morphogenesis. Front Plant Sci 2020;11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00148

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