MitoCommun: a database for decoding mitochondrial communication networks

TL;DR

MitoCommun is a database that organizes and provides access to mitochondrial signaling events across multiple species to better understand how mitochondria communicate.

Contribution

MitoCommun is a manually curated database of mitochondrial signaling events across five species, offering a comprehensive and accessible platform for studying mitochondrial communication.

Findings

MitoCommun includes 580 signaling events and 233 signaling molecules from five species.

The database integrates signaling networks across species, biological processes, and organelles.

It provides detailed annotations and pathways for mitochondrial communication.

Abstract

Mitochondria are highly dynamic signaling organelles that engage in continuous bidirectional communication with the cytoplasm and participate in biological processes such as cell death, inflammation, and epigenetic modification. Mitochondria receive, process and export various types of signals, ranging from metabolites to non-coding RNAs. Despite their central importance, progress in understanding mitochondrial signaling has been hampered by the fragmented characterization of their communication networks. In this study, we present MitoCommun, a manually curated database comprising 580 mitochondria-derived signaling events from five model species: Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Caenorhabditis elegans. Specifically, MitoCommun features 233 well-annotated mitochondrial signaling molecules, defined by either mitochondrial origin or specific organelle localization. These molecular entities have been systematically paired with their receptors and functionally mapped into explicit pathways and interaction networks. Furthermore, we have reconstructed signaling networks across phylogenetically divergent species, functionally distinct biological processes, and inter-organelle communication systems, yielding comprehensive topological maps of mitochondrial signaling cascades. By integrating these resources, MitoCommun establishes a foundational framework for decoding mitochondrial communication and serves as a versatile, user-friendly platform for exploring organelle signaling networks, which is freely accessible at http://mitocommun.qscn.online/.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-026-12549-6.

● Comprehensive data were curated for different mitochondrial communications.

● A user-friendly database was developed for browsing and searching the results.

● Multiple signals and pathways were collected, combining detailed cell stresses.

● Mitochondrial signaling networks were integrated across organisms, organelles and functions.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-026-12549-6.

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