Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Under the Abiotic Stress

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Breeding and Genetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2026 | Viewed by 685

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou 311400, China
Interests: abiotic stress; physiological mechanism; molecular mechanism; gene regulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 311400, China
Interests: crop physiology; root; nutrient management; abiotic stress

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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 311400, China
Interests: agro-environmental quality and product safety; abiotic stress; crop physiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global warming and extreme climatic events such as high temperatures, low temperatures, droughts, floods, ultraviolet or strong light, and persistent strong winds have always been hot topics and have increasingly attracted the attention of scientific researchers. Furthermore, seawater intrusion in coastal areas may lead to soil salinization, and organic and heavy metal pollution caused by anthropogenic activities is increasing worldwide. The imbalance of mineral elements in soil also has a serious impact on plant growth. The above-mentioned natural disasters and soil pollution have caused serious damage to the growth, development, and reproduction of various plants. How plants deal with adverse environments is a fundamental biological issue that needs to be better understood. Through long-term evolutionary processes, plants have evolved to possess a series of specific regulation pathways in physiological and molecular mechanisms to deal with adverse environments.

This Special Issue on abiotic stress, physiological mechanisms, molecular mechanisms, and gene regulation aims to compile comprehensive reviews and original research articles that cover the latest novel discoveries on the interactions between plants and abiotic stresses such as droughts, floods, salt, heavy metals, light, mineral nutrition, microplastics, extreme temperatures, and mechanical damage.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Molecular and physiological mechanisms on plant abiotic stress tolerance.
(2) Integration of transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics in abiotic stress response.
(3) The genetic transformation of plants adapting to severe abiotic stresses.
(4) The breeding of plant varieties with strong stress resistance.

Dr. Xiaojiao Han
Dr. Yikai Zhang
Prof. Dr. Huizhe Chen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • abiotic stress
  • physiological mechanism
  • molecular mechanism
  • woody plants
  • crops

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 1952 KiB  
Article
Unraveling the NRAMP Gene Family: Aegilops tauschii’s Prominent Barrier Against Metal Stress
by Hongying Li, Yibo Li, Fuqiang Yang, Xiaolin Liang, Yifan Ding, Ning Wang and Xiaojiao Han
Agronomy 2025, 15(8), 1919; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15081919 - 8 Aug 2025
Viewed by 324
Abstract
The natural resistance-associated macrophage proteins (NRAMPs) gene family represents a group of membrane transporter proteins with wide distribution in plants. This family of membrane transporters plays a pivotal role in mediating plant responses to metal stress by coordinating ion transport processes [...] Read more.
The natural resistance-associated macrophage proteins (NRAMPs) gene family represents a group of membrane transporter proteins with wide distribution in plants. This family of membrane transporters plays a pivotal role in mediating plant responses to metal stress by coordinating ion transport processes and maintaining cellular metal homeostasis, thereby effectively mitigating the detrimental effects of metal ion stress on plant growth and development. This study conducted a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of the NRAMP gene family in A. tauschii using integrated bioinformatics approaches, as well as the expression pattern when exposed to heavy metal-induced stress. By means of phylogenetic investigation, eleven AetNRAMP proteins were categorized into five distinct subgroups. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed that the majority of NRAMP genes exhibited marked differential expression patterns under specific stress treatments. Subsequently, yeast cells were employed to validate the functions of AetNRAMP1 and AetNRAMP3. It was confirmed that AetNRAMP1 functioned in copper transport, and AetNRAMP3 showed an increase in its expression level under manganese stress. These findings establish a molecular foundation for elucidating the functional specialization of NRAMP gene family members in A. tauschii’s heavy metal detoxification pathways, providing critical genetic evidence for their stress-responsive regulatory networks. Nevertheless, significant knowledge gaps persist regarding its functions in A. tauschii. Research on metal stress resistance in this wheat progenitor species may establish a theoretical foundation for enhancing wheat tolerance and developing improved cultivars. Full article
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