Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.2
3.3
Journals
Agronomy
Special Issues
Resistance-Related Gene Mining and Genetic Improvement in Crops
share announcement

Resistance-Related Gene Mining and Genetic Improvement in Crops

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 2600

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Panfeng Yao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Interests: potato; drought; ABA; cadmium stress
Dr. Chen Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: alfalfa genetics; gene regulation; salt stress; GWAS; gene family
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Research on crop stress resistance is a crucial topic in the field of agriculture. With climate change and environmental degradation, crops are facing increasingly severe non-biological stressors such as drought and salinity. Scientists explore drought-resistant genes through genetic improvement to enhance crop adaptability and yield stability. In recent years, utilizing molecular biology and genomics technologies has led to the successful discovery of multiple key drought-resistant genes, which have been introduced into crops through transgenic or hybrid breeding methods, achieving some breakthroughs. However, challenges remain, including insufficient depth in gene exploration, incomplete understanding of gene functions, and concerns about the safety of transgenic crops, thus impeding the progress of stress resistance research. Future efforts should focus on strengthening fundamental research, delving deeper into drought resistance mechanisms, exploring new genetic improvement approaches, and prioritizing ecological risk assessments to propel greater advancements in crop stress resistance research.

In this Special Issue, we are soliciting research articles on novel and underexplored crop stress resistance-related genes, as well as comprehensive reviews offering unique insights into resistance against non-biological stressors in major crops.

Dr. Panfeng Yao
Dr. Chen Lin
Guest Editors

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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

  • agriculture
  • plant science
  • staple crops
  • abiotic stress
  • plant breeding
  • genetic improvement

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

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

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

17 pages, 6375 KiB  
Article
Identification and Expression of Laccase Gene Family in Potato (Solanum tuberosum)
by Hongyu Luo, Zhen Liu, Jinyong Zhu, Zhitao Li, Xiaoqiang Qiu, Weilu Wang, Chengwei Gao, Jiangpeng Qi, Minmin Bao and Yuhui Liu
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030585 - 27 Feb 2025
Viewed by 366
Abstract
Through the identification and expression pattern analysis of potato Laccase (LAC) gene family members, the characteristics of the StLAC gene family were elucidated, and the biological function of potato StLACs was further analyzed. In this study, bioinformatics approaches were employed to identify the [...] Read more.
Through the identification and expression pattern analysis of potato Laccase (LAC) gene family members, the characteristics of the StLAC gene family were elucidated, and the biological function of potato StLACs was further analyzed. In this study, bioinformatics approaches were employed to identify the members of the potato LAC family at the whole-genome level. Subsequently, their physicochemical properties, chromosomal localizations, gene structures, gene duplication events, and expression patterns were thoroughly analyzed. By leveraging the RNA-seq data retrieved from the PGSC database, the expression patterns of StLACs in diploid monoploid (DM) potatoes under various tissue, stress, and hormone treatments were investigated. Moreover, real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was utilized to analyze the relative expression levels of StLACs in the “Atlantic” potato cultivar under salt stress treatments at different time points (zero hours, one hour, three hours, twelve hours, and twenty-four hours), aiming to screen for the StLAC genes potentially involved in the potato’s response to salt stress. Forty-five members of the potato StLAC gene family were identified, unevenly distributed across 12 chromosomes. Through the analysis of their gene structures and phylogenetic characteristics, the 45 StLACs members were classified into five subgroups. Collinearity analysis indicated that segmental duplication and tandem repeats played major roles in the expansion of the StLAC genes. Using RNA-seq and qPCR analyses, two candidate StLAC genes (Soltu09G001990 and Soltu04G028320) involved in the potato’s response to salt stress were screened out. This study provides a theoretical basis for further understanding StLAC gene family characteristics and an in-depth analysis of StLAC gene function in potato. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resistance-Related Gene Mining and Genetic Improvement in Crops)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 10863 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Identification of Epidermal Pattern Factor (EPF) Gene Family in Potato and Functional Characterization of StEPF4 in Regulating Drought Stress
by Run Qiao, Jiangwei Yang, Yurong Deng, Xiaoqin Duan, Xinxia Li, Fengjiao Zhu, Mei Liu, Jiani Mou, Ning Zhang and Huaijun Si
Agronomy 2024, 14(12), 2948; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14122948 - 11 Dec 2024
Viewed by 920
Abstract
Plants require adequate water for growth, development, and reproduction. Peptides play a key role in plant growth and development and act in a similar manner to plant hormones. However, only a few peptides have been identified to play a role in abiotic stress [...] Read more.
Plants require adequate water for growth, development, and reproduction. Peptides play a key role in plant growth and development and act in a similar manner to plant hormones. However, only a few peptides have been identified to play a role in abiotic stress tolerance in potato. In this study, we identified fourteen members of the epidermal patterning factor (EPF) family in potato, which were designated as StEPF1-14 according to their chromosomal locations. We also conducted a comprehensive analysis of their chromosomal distribution, gene structures, physicochemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, and tissue-specific expression patterns. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that the StEPF4 gene is significantly induced by drought stress, suggesting its potential role as a negative regulator in the plant’s response to drought. Furthermore, multiple cis-regulatory elements associated with drought-responsive regulation were identified within the promoter region of the StEPF genes. Here, we isolated an EPF secreted Cys-rich small peptide StEPF4 from ‘Atlantic’ and explored its mechanism in plant response to drought stress. We found that StEPF4 was greatly induced by dehydration treatment in potato. To investigate its potential biological functions, StEPF4 was knocked down in potato. The StEPF4 knocked down lines (KdStEPF4) significantly decreased stomatal density, resulting in a decrease in the transpiration rate. KdStEPF4 lines maintained a higher photosynthetic rate and lowered the water loss rate of leaves compared with the control, resulting in increased drought resistance. Taken together, this study provides detailed information about StEPFs, and our findings also show that StEPF4 plays an essential role in regulating drought resistance by reducing stomatal density in potato. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resistance-Related Gene Mining and Genetic Improvement in Crops)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 6323 KiB  
Article
Identification of Shade Avoidance Response MicroRNAs and Their Targets in Solanum tuberosum L. via High-Throughput Sequencing
by Mei Liu, Jiangwei Yang, Ning Zhang, Run Qiao, Xinxia Li, Fengjiao Zhu and Huaijun Si
Agronomy 2024, 14(12), 2833; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14122833 - 28 Nov 2024
Viewed by 674
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding, single-stranded RNA molecules that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Potato, an essential crop for food and fodder, experiences reduced quality and yield under shading. Although miRNAs have known roles in various plants, their regulatory mechanisms in potato shade avoidance remain [...] Read more.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding, single-stranded RNA molecules that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Potato, an essential crop for food and fodder, experiences reduced quality and yield under shading. Although miRNAs have known roles in various plants, their regulatory mechanisms in potato shade avoidance remain unexplored. To investigate this, we constructed nine small RNA libraries from potato samples at 0, 5, and 10 days post-shade treatment. High-throughput sequencing identified 525 miRNAs (307 known and 218 novel) from 99 families, and 166 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were detected. qRT-PCR verified 10 DEMs, confirming sequencing reliability. Using TargetFinder, we predicted 4320 target genes of DEMs, which were enriched in plant–pathogen interaction and hormone signal transduction pathways, among others. These findings indicate that miRNAs may play key regulatory roles in potato shade avoidance by targeting specific genes, providing valuable insights for future functional studies and potential yield enhancement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resistance-Related Gene Mining and Genetic Improvement in Crops)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop