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Agriculture
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Feature Papers in Crop Genetics, Genomics and Breeding
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Feature Papers in Crop Genetics, Genomics and Breeding

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Genetics, Genomics and Breeding".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 September 2026 | Viewed by 662

Editor

Prof. Dr. Rodomiro Ortiz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 2 3053 Alnarp, Sweden
Interests: genetics; plant breeding; genetic resources; agrobiodiversity; food security
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

“The secret of improved plant breeding, apart

from scientific knowledge,

is love”

Luther Burbank

Dear Colleagues,

Plant breeding aims to provide improved cultivars that address human needs. These cultivars must show enhanced productivity, appropriate produce quality (for food, feed, fiber, fuel, feedstock, flower, fun and pharmaceuticals), climate resilience, and host plant resistance to pathogens and pests. Plant breeding contributes further to sustainable agriculture intensification by reducing the negative impacts on agroecosystems by releasing cultivars with input use efficiency (“producing more or the same with less”) and that are suitable for conservation agriculture. This Special Issue on “Feature Papers in Crop Genetics, Genomics and Breeding” will thus focus on the scientific and technical advances in knowledge, methods and tools that facilitate and accelerate the release of genetically enhanced seed-embedded technology that meets the current and future expectations of markets worldwide. Research or review articles on the following topics are welcome for this Special Issue:

  • How to improve selection accuracy considering the product profiles?
  • What may work for increasing genetic gains and steady cultivar replacement?
  • Where to breed crops for the future?
  • When to increase genetic variation in the breeding pool?
  • Which breeding methods and tools may enhance selection intensity?
  • Who will deliver the seeds of cultivars in 2050?

Prof. Dr. Rodomiro Ortiz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cultivar testing
  • enviromics
  • germplasm enhancement
  • genetic gains
  • genomics
  • genotype–environment interaction
  • phenomics
  • pre-breeding
  • participatory variety selection
  • population improvement

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

21 pages, 4099 KB  
Review
OsMADS27 Transcription Factor in Rice: Structure, Functional Significance, and Emerging Role in Abiotic Stress Tolerance
by Muhammad Rehman, Abdul Salam, Bahar Ali, Irshan Ahmad and Yinbo Gan
Agriculture 2026, 16(12), 1296; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16121296 - 12 Jun 2026
Viewed by 355
Abstract
This narrative review synthesizes current knowledge on MADS-Box 27 (OsMADS27), a member of the AGL17 clade in rice that has emerged as a regulatory node linking nitrate signaling, root development, and abiotic stress tolerance. Because most functional and mechanistic studies on [...] Read more.
This narrative review synthesizes current knowledge on MADS-Box 27 (OsMADS27), a member of the AGL17 clade in rice that has emerged as a regulatory node linking nitrate signaling, root development, and abiotic stress tolerance. Because most functional and mechanistic studies on OsMADS27 to date have been conducted in rice, this review is centered on Oryza sativa, with cross-species comparisons used for evolutionary and comparative context. Specifically, we summarize the gene and protein structure, phylogenetic position, expression profile, upstream and downstream regulation, and emerging functional significance of OsMADS27. OsMADS27 is a typical MIKC-type MADS-box protein with root-preferential expression, and its activity is strongly influenced by nitrate availability and miR444-mediated regulation. Evidence from functional genomics, transcriptomics, ChIP-based studies, and transgenic analyses suggests that OsMADS27 contributes to the regulation of root architecture, nitrate uptake, hormonal crosstalk, and stress-responsive pathways. Notably, OsMADS27 enhances salt tolerance through nitrate-dependent activation of downstream targets such as OsHKT1;1 and OsSPL7, contributing to ion homeostasis and salinity tolerance. Recent findings also suggest roles in grain size regulation and yield improvement, expanding its significance beyond root biology. This review compares OsMADS27 with AGL17-clade genes and highlights its value for crop improvement aimed at salinity tolerance and nitrogen use efficiency. However, important research gaps remain, particularly the limited field-level validation, the absence of integrated multi-omics analyses, and the lack of functional studies of OsMADS27 orthologs in non-rice crops. Overall, OsMADS27 represents promising rice-centered target for future biotechnology applications, while its translational relevance to other cereals remains to be established through orthology analysis and field-level evaluation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Crop Genetics, Genomics and Breeding)
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