Post-Translational Modifications in Chloroplasts and Mitochondria: Integrative Roles in Signaling, Metabolism, and Plant Stress Adaptation

Chloroplasts and mitochondria are not only the energetic hubs of the plant cell but also act as critical sensors of environmental fluctuations. Many regulatory processes within these organelles depend on post-translational modifications (PTMs), which enable fast and reversible modulation of protein activity, stability, localization, and interactions. Recent advancements in mass spectrometry and multi-omics have uncovered the breadth and diversity of PTMs within chloroplasts and mitochondria, revealing their pivotal roles in tuning organellar metabolism, regulating protein complex dynamics, and enabling fine-tuned, reversible responses to changing environmental conditions. Despite these gains, crucial questions remain regarding the integration of these modifications into broader regulatory networks. Specifically, mechanistic links between distinct PTM patterns and plant adaptation to abiotic challenges such as drought, salinity, and heat are not fully understood.

This Research Topic aims to clarify how PTM-mediated remodeling within chloroplasts and mitochondria regulates organellar function and underlies plant acclimation to abiotic stress. Key objectives include dissecting the molecular pathways by which PTMs influence retrograde signaling from organelles to the nucleus, coordinating metabolic adjustment, gene expression, and stress adaptation. We also seek to understand the functional interplay between chloroplast and mitochondrial networks mediated by PTMs, and to define the contributions of canonical and emerging modification types to organellar plasticity. By promoting research that connects proteomic discoveries with physiological outcomes, we aim to advance knowledge of the regulatory logic underpinning stress tolerance and plant cell resilience.

The scope of this Research Topic encompasses mechanistic, physiological, and evolutionary perspectives on PTMs in plant organelles. While focusing on the integrative roles of PTMs in chloroplasts and mitochondria during abiotic stress and retrograde signaling, we limit consideration to research that directly addresses molecular, metabolic, or signaling aspects within these organelles. We especially welcome studies using proteomics, genetics, biochemistry, as well as theoretical or modeling approaches. Relevant themes include, but are not limited to:

• Mechanistic insights into how PTMs regulate organellar protein stability, localization, and interactions
• The role of PTMs in retrograde signaling from chloroplasts and mitochondria to the nucleus during stress
• Functional characterization of enzymes catalyzing PTMs (e.g., kinases, phosphatases, acyltransferases)
• Bioenergetic and metabolic impacts of organellar PTM patterns
• Crosstalk and coordination of PTMs between chloroplasts and mitochondria
• Emerging and non-canonical PTMs (e.g., acylations, persulfidation, nitrotyrosination) and their regulatory functions
• Multi-omics or systems biology approaches to mapping PTM networks in plant stress acclimation

We welcome Original Research articles, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, and Perspectives that advance our understanding of how PTMs regulate organellar function, signaling, and plant stress tolerance.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Retrograde signalling, Redox homeostasis, Proteome plasticity, Abiotic stress, Organellar metabolism, Functional proteomics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.