Modeling human peroxisome biogenesis disorders in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Peroxisomes are ubiquitous eukaryotic organelles. The proteins required for peroxisome biogenesis are called peroxins, and mutations in the peroxin genes cause the devastating human developmental syndromes called the peroxisome biogenesis disorders. Our interest is in elaborating the roles that peroxisomes play in Caenorhabditis elegans development, and in establishing an invertebrate model system for the human peroxisome biogenesis disorders.