Selective Autophagy, Organelle Quality Control, and Programmed Cell Death in Plants
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 9
Editor
Interests: autophagy; autophagic body degradation; plant physiology and biochemistry; programmed cell death (PCD); pexophagy; seed metabolism; selective autophagy; sugar starvation; seed development and germination; storage lipid metabolism; uncommon nucleotides; vacuolar processing enzymes (VPE); vacuole
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Autophagy is a highly conserved intracellular degradation and recycling process that plays essential roles in plant growth, development, nutrient remobilization, and adaptation to environmental challenges. Recent advances have demonstrated that plant autophagy extends far beyond bulk degradation and encompasses highly selective pathways responsible for the turnover of specific organelles, protein complexes, and macromolecular aggregates. Selective forms of autophagy, including mitophagy, chlorophagy, pexophagy, and endoplasmic reticulum autophagy (ER-phagy), are now recognized as fundamental mechanisms controlling organelle quality, cellular homeostasis, and stress adaptation.
Growing evidence indicates that autophagy acts as a central hub integrating nutrient availability, energy status, developmental programs, and environmental signals. The regulation of autophagy by TOR and SnRK1 signaling pathways allows plants to coordinate growth with metabolic demands under both favorable and adverse conditions. Autophagy has therefore emerged as a key component of plant responses to carbon and nutrient starvation, abiotic and biotic stresses, senescence, and reproductive development.
Another rapidly developing research area concerns the complex interplay between autophagy and programmed cell death (PCD). Depending on the physiological context, autophagy may promote cell survival or contribute to the execution of cell death programs. Recent studies have highlighted crucial roles for metacaspases, vacuolar processing enzymes (VPEs), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and organelle quality-control pathways in determining plant cell fate. Understanding the molecular networks connecting autophagy, proteolytic systems, vacuolar function, and PCD remains one of the major challenges in contemporary plant biology.
This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for the publication of original research articles, communications, and reviews addressing recent advances in the molecular mechanisms, regulation, physiological significance, and biotechnological applications of autophagy, organelle turnover, and programmed cell death in plants and algae. Studies employing genetic, biochemical, cell biological, physiological, molecular, and multi-omics approaches are particularly welcome.
Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Selective autophagy pathways in plants;
- TOR–SnRK1 signaling and metabolic regulation of autophagy;
- Autophagy in abiotic stress responses;
- Autophagy and plant immunity;
- Cargo recognition and selective autophagy receptors;
- Phagophore initiation, expansion, and autophagosome biogenesis;
- Autophagosome trafficking, vacuolar fusion, and cargo degradation;
- Mitophagy and mitochondrial quality control;
- Chlorophagy and chloroplast turnover;
- Pexophagy and peroxisome remodeling;
- ER-phagy and endomembrane quality control;
- Molecular crosstalk between autophagy and programmed cell death;
- Metacaspases in plant development, stress responses, and PCD;
- Vacuolar processing enzymes (VPEs) and vacuole-mediated cell death;
- Protease-mediated regulation of autophagy and PCD;
- Reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling in autophagy and cell death;
- Organelle quality control and cellular homeostasis;
- Carbon and nitrogen starvation responses;
- Autophagy during seed development, dormancy, and germination;
- Autophagy in senescence and nutrient remobilization;
- Lipid turnover, lipid droplets, and lipophagy;
- Transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and single-cell approaches in autophagy and PCD research;
- Comparative and evolutionary aspects of autophagy and cell death in plants and algae.
Prof. Dr. Sławomir Borek
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- ATG8-interacting proteins
- cargo receptors
- phagophore biogenesis
- autophagosome trafficking
- mitophagy
- pexophagy
- metacaspases
- vacuolar processing enzymes
- TOR-SnRK1 signaling
- carbon starvation
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