While the knowledge on post-translational regulation through transient phosphorylation in plants is growing because of its crucial importance in plant molecular networks, it remains an underexplored and challenging area.
In Arabidopsis and major crop species, phosphorylation is controlled by a large number of protein kinases and phosphatase complexes. However, for the majority of cytoplasmic kinases, membrane-associated receptor kinases and phosphatases unravelling physiological and developmental roles and identifying substrates remain a challenge.

Almost every organism is exposed to variation in temperature, on a daily and on a seasonal basis. This is especially true for plants that, as sessile organisms, need to continuously alter their growth, development, and physiology in response to temperature variation. To sense and respond to temperature changes, several molecular sensors and downstream signalling and response networks have evolved.