Woronin body

GO:0140266 · Membrane organelle · Membrane bounded organelle · Proposed

A peroxisome-derived dense-core vesicle of filamentous fungi that seals septal pores upon hyphal wounding. [GO:0140266]

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Stoichiometry	Essential	Role
Woronin body membrane	Lipid	part of				ESSENTIAL	Single membrane that surrounds the dense Woronin body core and separates this peroxisome-derived vesicle from the cytosol. `DOI:10.1083/jcb.200705049` Liu et al. 2008 characterized Woronin bodies as peroxisome-derived membrane-bounded organelles.
Hex1 crystalline core	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	hex-1, HEX1		ESSENTIAL	Major dense-core protein that self-assembles into a crystalline lattice required for normal Woronin body septal-pore plugging. `DOI:10.1006/fgbi.2000.1230` Tenney et al. 2000 identified hex-1 as a filamentous-fungus gene encoding the major Woronin body protein. `DOI:10.1038/nsb910` Yuan et al. 2003 solved the Neurospora crassa HEX-1 crystal lattice and showed lattice assembly is required for Woronin body function.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:147538 Pezizomycotina — VARIABLE: Woronin bodies are specialized peroxisome-derived organelles of filamentous ascomycete fungi; this record does not assert presence across all Ascomycota. [DOI:10.1083/jcb.200705049]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:5141 Neurospora crassa — Filamentous ascomycete model in which hex-1 was tied to Woronin body formation and the HEX-1 lattice was structurally linked to septal-pore sealing. [DOI:10.1038/nsb910]

Functions

septal pore sealing — Woronin bodies plug septal pores after hyphal damage, restricting cytoplasmic bleeding from neighboring filamentous-fungal compartments.
- DOI:10.1006/fgbi.2000.1230 Tenney et al. 2000 connected Neurospora crassa hex-1 to Woronin bodies and septal-pore plugging.

Mechanism graphs

Hex1 crystals form a membrane-bounded septal plug (FUNCTION)

Hex1 assembles into the dense Woronin body core, the bounding membrane encloses that core, and the resulting organelle plugs septal pores after hyphal damage.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
Hex1 crystalline core	forms dense core of	Woronin body	`DOI:10.1006/fgbi.2000.1230` Tenney et al. 2000 identified Hex-1 as the major Woronin body protein in Neurospora.
Woronin body membrane	bounds	Woronin body	`DOI:10.1083/jcb.200705049` Liu et al. 2008 studied Woronin body biogenesis as formation of a peroxisome-derived organelle.
Woronin body	plugs	septal pore	`DOI:10.1006/fgbi.2000.1230` Tenney et al. 2000 showed that Woronin bodies function as septal-pore plugs.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact family groundings for Woronin body Hex1, WSC, Leashin and Pex11 biogenesis or tethering factors. This first record curates Hex1 as the experimentally defined dense-core protein. WSC, Leashin and Pex11 participate in Woronin body biogenesis and positioning, but exact source-neutral family groundings and component boundaries should be resolved before adding them as components or associated machinery.

Evidence

GO:0140266 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for Woronin body.
DOI:10.1006/fgbi.2000.1230 Tenney et al. 2000, hex-1, a gene unique to filamentous fungi, encodes the major protein of the Woronin body and functions as a plug for septal pores, Fungal Genetics and Biology.
DOI:10.1038/nsb910 Yuan et al. 2003, A HEX-1 crystal lattice required for Woronin body function in Neurospora crassa, Nature Structural Biology.
DOI:10.1083/jcb.200705049 Liu et al. 2008, Making two organelles from one: Woronin body biogenesis by peroxisomal protein sorting, Journal of Cell Biology.

Curation history

2026-09-10T10:38:39Z claude · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-10T10:39:12Z claude · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added a bounding membrane and reviewed-label-only Hex1 crystalline core, Pezizomycotina taxonomic scope, a Neurospora crassa canonical example, a septal-pore sealing function, record-level evidence, a nonmechanistic pore-plugging graph and a grounding TODO for Woronin body biogenesis factors.
2026-09-10T10:46:42Z claude · ADDRESS_REVIEW — Resolved #349 by removing the terminal septal-pore-to-sealed-hypha state edge and keeping the Woronin body graph focused on directly supported dense-core, membrane-boundary and septal-pore plugging relations.

Source: data/structures/membrane_organelle/woronin_body.yaml