Peroxisomes play an essential role in a number of important metabolic pathways including -oxidation of fatty acids and their derivatives. Therefore, peroxisomes possess various -oxidation enzymes and specialized fatty acid transport systems. However, the molecular mechanisms of these proteins, especially in terms of substrate binding, are still unknown. In this study, to identify the substrate-binding sites of these proteins, we synthesized a photoreactive palmitic acid analogue bearing a diazirine moiety as a photophore, and performed photoaffinity labeling of purified rat liver peroxisomes. As a result, an 80-kDa peroxisomal protein was specifically labeled by the photoaffinity ligand, and the labeling efficiency competitively decreased in the presence of palmitoyl-CoA. Mass spectrometric analysis identified the 80-kDa protein as peroxisomal multifunctional enzyme type 2 (MFE2), one of the peroxisomal -oxidation enzymes. Recombinant rat MFE2 was also labeled by the photoaffinity ligand, and mass spectrometric analysis revealed that a fragment of rat MFE2 (residues Trp 249 to Arg 251 ) was labeled by the ligand. MFE2 mutants bearing these residues, MFE2(W249A) and MFE2(R251A), exhibited decreased labeling efficiency. Furthermore, MFE2(W249G), which corresponds to one of the disease-causing mutations in human MFE2, also exhibited a decreased efficiency. Based on the crystal structure of rat MFE2, these residues are located on the top of a hydrophobic cavity leading to an active site of MFE2. These data suggest that MFE2 anchors its substrate around the region from Trp 249 to Arg 251 and positions the substrate along the hydrophobic cavity in the proper direction toward the catalytic center.Peroxisomes are organelles bound by a single membrane, which are present in almost all eukaryotic cells. Peroxisomes are involved in a variety of important metabolic processes including the -oxidation of fatty acids, synthesis of plasmalogen, and bile acids (1). A specialized set of enzymes responsible for the peroxisomal functions are compartmentalized in the organelle, and the deficiency of peroxisomal enzymes causes severe metabolic disease such as acyl-CoA oxidase deficiency and D-bifunctional protein deficiency (2-4). Fibroblasts from patients with these deficiencies exhibit the disturbed peroxisomal -oxidation of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs), 4 and VLCFAs are accumulated in the plasma and tissues of these patients (5). Analyses of these peroxisomal diseases reflect the importance of the peroxisomal -oxidation in organisms along with disclosing the enzymatic organization of the peroxisomal -oxidation system. Peroxisomes are involved in the -oxidation of VLCFAs, branched chain fatty acids such as pristanic acid, and bile acid intermediates such as dihydroxycholestanoic acid and trihydroxycholestanoic acid, which are incompatible with mitochondrial -oxidation (6). Peroxisomal -oxidation of fatty acids proceeds via a four-step pathway as in mitochondria, and multiple enzymes are involved in each step of the...