Foreword: Contributors, please note that papers should be relevant to this Research Topic, whose scope is defined below. Other submissions may be considered in relevant Frontiers in Plant Science Specialty Sections.

The control of mRNA translation is one key regulatory step of gene expression and it is probably one essential molecular tool used by plants to modulate their impressive growth plasticity. With this Research Topic we will focus on how internal cues such as plant hormones or signalling molecules, as well as external signals of either biotic or abiotic origin impact on the regulation of translation to adapt plant growth and development.

The sessile plant condition exposes them to a large array of challenging external and internal alterations that may restrict their growth. The hypothetical sequence of events under limiting growth conditions suggests that environmental alterations may activate endogenous signalling responses which eventually need to target the protein synthesis machinery to rapidly reprogram their metabolism to adapt to the new situation. In spite of a vast number of studies aimed to identify plant transcriptional alterations upon hormonal or environmental cues, the subsequent steps of mRNA transport, stability, storage, and eventually its translational regulation is still poorly understood in plants. A substantial lack of knowledge affects not only to the plant mRNA targets, but also to the biogenesis and maturation of rRNAs, tRNAs and plant translation factors involved. Very scarce but stimulating studies are just beginning to endorse crucial developmental functions to both cytosolic and plastid translation factors, and some inspiring reports are finding relevant connections between plant hormonal action and translational control.

In this Research Topic we expect to attract research in the field of plant mRNA translation to contribute to the knowledge about how plants use these molecular processes to rapidly adapt their growth and development to the signals perceived from the surrounding. We hope that the compilation of original research articles, opinions and reviews will foster collaborations within the field and will provide the basis to accelerate biotechnological strategies to improve plant growth and adaptation to the demanding environmental changes in the future.

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