De Novo Biosynthesis of Peroxisomes in Caenorhabditis elegans and Its Implication in Cellular Regeneration

Presentation Type

Poster

Conference Date

Spring 4-17-2026

Abstract

Animals age across generations, yet each new generation emerges developmentally renewed. While recent work with the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans has demonstrated lysosomal and mitochondrial remodeling during germ-cell maturation, mechanisms that reset other essential organelles remain poorly understood. Peroxisomes are vital organelles involved in lipid metabolism and detoxification, and defects in their biogenesis can cause severe developmental disorders. Here, I investigated the developmental timing and origin of peroxisome formation in C. elegans using in vivofluorescence microscopy. A transgenic germline-specific peroxisomal reporter (Ppie-1::GFP-SKL) revealed that import-competent peroxisomes are unexpectedly absent from adult germ cells and oocytes. Early-stage embryos likewise lacked punctate GFP signal, indicating continued absence of functional peroxisomes immediately following fertilization. However, distinct peroxisomal puncta later appeared de novo during mid-embryogenesis, after multiple rounds of cell division. To determine the tissue origin of peroxisome biogenesis, Ppie-1::GFP-SKL animals were crossed with other animals carrying a gut-specific membrane marker (Pges-1::mCherry-PH), enabling dual-marker imaging in developing embryos. Co-imaging with both fluorescent markers demonstrated that peroxisome biogenesis initiates within developing gut precursor cells before later expanding to additional somatic tissues. Notably, I found that GFP-positive puncta failed to form in prx-5 mutant embryos, confirming that the prx-5 gene is required for the formation of import-competent peroxisomes during embryogenesis. Together, these findings establish that peroxisomes are absent throughout the germline lineage and are generated de novo during embryogenesis in somatic tissues. This natural developmental system provides a powerful in vivo model to investigate the regulation of peroxisome biogenesis and offers insight into how essential organelles are re-established to promote cellular health in each new generation.

Presenter

Olivia Forsman

Faculty Mentor

Adam Bohnert

Award

2nd Place, Poster Presentation - STEM Disciplines; 2nd Place, LSU College of Science

Academic Major

Biochemistry

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS