What does peroxisome mean?
A peroxisome is a small, membrane-bound organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains enzymes that carry out oxidative reactions, including the breakdown of very long-chain fatty acids, and it helps metabolize hydrogen peroxide and other reactive oxygen species. Peroxisomes are especially important in animal cells, where they contribute to lipid metabolism and detoxification, although they occur in many other eukaryotes as well. In technical writing, the word is usually used in the singular for one organelle and in the plural as peroxisomes. The term is chiefly encountered in cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, and medical research, including discussions of peroxisome biogenesis disorders and the effects of peroxisome proliferators. Its connection to peroxide is both functional and etymological: the organelle contains enzymes whose reactions involve oxygen and peroxide chemistry.
nounA peroxisome is a small, membrane-bound organelle found in eukaryotic cells that contains oxidative enzymes involved in fatty-acid breakdown and the metabolism of hydrogen peroxide. Peroxisomes help control potentially harmful reactive oxygen species produced during cellular metabolism.
- A membrane-bound cellular organelle containing oxidative enzymes and involved in fatty-acid oxidation and peroxide metabolism.
"The peroxisome helps break down very long-chain fatty acids and detoxifies hydrogen peroxide."
"Researchers used fluorescence microscopy to visualize peroxisomes moving through the cell."
"A defect in peroxisome formation can cause a serious metabolic disorder."
The standard plural is peroxisomes, referring to multiple organelles.
"Peroxisomes accumulate in the liver and help regulate fatty-acid metabolism."
The tiny peroxisome is the cell's peroxide safety brigade: it helps process fatty acids while controlling the reactive by-products of that work.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does peroxisome come from?
The word is a 20th-century scientific coinage formed in English from peroxide and the organelle-forming ending -some, ultimately associated with Greek soma, “body.” It was coined during the period when organelles were being identified and named systematically. Its name reflects the organelle's role in peroxide and oxidative metabolism.
Related word forms
How peroxisome is actually used
This is specialized scientific terminology, used chiefly in cell biology, biochemistry, and medicine. It is normally counted with a singular verb in formal writing: a peroxisome is, but peroxisomes are.
Easily confused with peroxisome
A peroxisome primarily carries out oxidative reactions and fatty-acid metabolism, whereas a lysosome contains digestive enzymes that break down cellular waste and macromolecules.