Special Issue: Cell Biology of Mitochondria
The special issue of Journal of Cell Science (JCS) on the “Cell Biology of Mitochondria” looks to be one of the most comprehensive open series of papers, opinions, perspectives, interviews, reviews and posters on the subject of mitochondria biology, perhaps ever.
This incredibly in-depth examination of mitochondria covers the subject in research, interviews and commentary and does so in what can only be described as a community spirit from the Journal of Cell Science (JCS) a publication of the Company of Biologists, which is “dedicated to supporting and inspiring the biological community.”
A Good Place to Start [Editorial]
The Cell Biology of Mitochondria Special Issue is a collaboration led by Ana J. Garcia-Saez, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics and Heidi McBride, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery McGill University, guided by Cell Biology Executive Editor Seema Grewal, who has a deep publishing and research biology background. McBride is also a member of the MitoWorld Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
MitoWorld was so impressed with this collection, enough reading for a month, that the questions arose of how does such an issue come together and how does it stand to help the mitochondrial research world as the subject becomes more popular. To get a sense of this, Executive Editor Seema Grewal answered a few questions.
MitoWorld: What prompted the special issue?
Grewal: JCS has a long and rich history of publishing papers in the field of mitochondrial cell biology; indeed, some of the early papers examining the factors that contribute to mitochondrial fusion and fission were published in JCS. We wanted to remind the community about this, so what better way to do this than to coordinate a special issue on the topic.
MitoWorld: This was a huge undertaking, how did this get going and how long has it taken?
Grewal: We started discussing the idea at the journal’s annual gathering of editors back in February 2024. Heidi and Ana are on the journal’s Editorial Advisory Board and are experts in the field, so the team felt that they would be well-placed to serve as Guest Editors for the issue. After some discussion with them, we decided on the aim, scope and timeline for the special issue. We put out a call for papers in the Spring of 2024 and had an encouraging response from the community, resulting in lots of research articles being submitted for consideration in the special issue. In parallel, we also identified and invited experts from across the field to contribute review-type articles.
MitoWorld: Can you talk about the Journal and its mission and how you are able to put together projects at this scale.
Grewal: JCS prides itself in being a community journal that is published by a not-for-profit publisher (The Company of Biologists) that exists to benefit scientists not shareholders. Coordinating a special issue is hard work, but we’re fortunate to have an in-house team that can support Guest Editors in coordinating the issue, so that they can focus on the science. This team works closely with the Guest Editors to ensure the smooth and efficient handling of articles.
MitoWorld: What do you hope comes from such a publication? Who should be reading this issue?
Grewal: We’re hoping that the issue will inspire the community and stimulate debate and discussion. It contains a range of research and technical articles that showcase the advances in the field. It also contains some in-depth reviews that synthesize the latest findings. We’ve also included some perspective and opinion articles that challenge our view of mitochondria. Finally, we strongly believe that it’s important to highlight the scientists that actually do the work, so the issue includes some interviews with researchers at different career stages. We’re hoping there’s something in the issue for everyone. It’s also worth pointing out that, thanks to our ‘Forest of Biologists’ initiative, we planted 24 trees to represent the 24 peer-reviewed articles published in the issue, so that’s another really positive outcome!
MitoWorld: There is so much material, do you have suggestions on what busy people should concentrate on or how to best use the whole resource.
Grewal: The Opinion piece is a good place to start, as it provides an over-arching view of mitochondria. After that, we suggest that people just bookmark the full table of contents and dip in and out of any reviews or research articles that appeal to them
MitoWorld: What do you hope the take-aways are for the serious reader of this special issue?
Grewal: That we’ve made lots of progress, largely thanks to new technologies…but there’s still so much to learn!
