Signals for Inter-Organelle Communication in Abiotic Stress

Abiotic stress is a major challenge for plants, especially as extreme conditions like heat and drought are becoming more frequent due to global climate change. Unlike animals, plants cannot move to escape harsh environments and must instead adapt their metabolism, physiology, and growth to survive. These adaptive responses rely on specialized sensors and signaling hubs within the plant, including organelles, which have been identified as key players in stress responses. While much research has focused on how individual organelles respond to stress, there is still a lack of understanding of how these organelles communicate with one another to coordinate stress signals and maintain cellular balance. This project aims to bridge that knowledge gap by exploring the communication between two key organelles, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and chloroplasts, and their role in helping plants cope with heat and droughttwo of the most significant challenges plants face. Under stress, organelles like the ER and chloroplasts send retrograde signals to the nucleus and other parts of the cell to trigger adaptive responses. However, the specific mechanisms of this inter-organelle communication remain largely unknown. By combining traditional molecular genetics with advanced transcriptomics, physiological profiling, and AI-assisted data analysis, we aim to identify and characterize novel signals and further study known players that mediate this vital organelle crosstalk. Ultimately, our research could pave the way for developing crops with enhanced resilience to environmental stress, addressing some of agriculture's most urgent challenges in the face of climate change.