Vegetable Adaptation and Mitigation of Abiotic Stress

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2025 | Viewed by 2820

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, 100 East University Road, Xixiangtang District, Nanning 530004, China
Interests: stress response; fruit ripening; quality regulation; plant hormone; signal molecule
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Guest Editor
College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Interests: vegetable crops; fruit development; abiotic stress; water stress; extreme temperature stress; heavy metal stress

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Vegetables are an indispensable source of nutrients in the human diet, providing the vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and other important nutrients that the human body needs. However, with global climate change and environmental deterioration, abiotic stresses pose a serious threat to vegetable growth and development, including seed dormancy and germination, cell division and elongation, tissue and organ differentiation, flowering and fruiting, and maturity and aging. In recent years, remarkable strides have been made in the realm of vegetable adaptation and abiotic stress mitigation, propelled by advances in molecular biology, biochemistry, and bioinformatic methodologies. Researchers have unveiled different strategies such as transcription factor regulation, functional gene expression, synthesis of osmoregulatory substances, clearance of reactive oxygen species, and regulation of hormonal signaling to improve vegetables’ adaptability and abiotic stress mitigation. This Special Issue aims to gather the latest research results on vegetable adaptation and abiotic stress mitigation, especially focusing on how to use this knowledge to optimize the adaptability of vegetables to various abiotic stress factors (such as extreme temperature changes, water restriction, drought, salt, heavy metal stress, etc.). We hope that, by sharing cutting-edge scientific discoveries and cases of technological applications, we can promote exchanges and cooperation between academia and industry, jointly explore more efficient and sustainable solutions to the current challenges, and, finally, achieve the goal of both ensuring food safety and protecting natural resources.

Dr. Changxia Li
Prof. Dr. Yang-Dong Guo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • abiotic stress
  • plant hormone
  • quality
  • growth and development

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2505 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analyses of the Abscisic Acid Receptor PYR/PYL Gene Family in Response to Fruit Development and Exogenous Abscisic Acid in Luffa (Luffa cylindrica L.)
by Jianting Liu, Yuqian Wang, Zuliang Li, Qingfang Wen, Haisheng Zhu and Shuilin He
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 598; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030598 - 27 Feb 2025
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Abstract
The pyrabactin resistance 1-like (PYR/PYL) proteins are abscisic acid receptors that perform multiple functions in various plant growth and development processes. However, the PYR/PYL gene family in luffa (Luffa cylindrica L.) has not been well-explored. In this study, we analysed [...] Read more.
The pyrabactin resistance 1-like (PYR/PYL) proteins are abscisic acid receptors that perform multiple functions in various plant growth and development processes. However, the PYR/PYL gene family in luffa (Luffa cylindrica L.) has not been well-explored. In this study, we analysed the effects of whole-genome member identification, endogenous soluble sugars (SS), soluble proteins (SP), abscisic acid (ABA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA, auxin) and the gene expression pattern of PYR/PYL influenced by exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) during the fruit development of luffa through the use of physiological and biochemical analyses, bioinformatics, and RT-qPCR techniques. We conducted a comprehensive genome-wide identification and characterisation of the PYR/PYL gene family in luffa fruit development. Four LcPYR and 10 LcPYL genes were identified in the luffa reference genome via bioinformatics analyses. A chromosomal mapping of the identified LcPYR/PYL genes showed that they were distributed on 9 of the 13 chromosomes in the luffa genome. Conserved structural domain analyses of the 14 proteins encoded by the LcPYR/PYL genes identified the PYR_PYL_RCAR_like structural domains typical of this family; however, no regulatory component of abscisic acid receptor (RCAR)-type genes was found. At six luffa fruit development stages (i.e., 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 days after pollination), the contents of soluble sugars, soluble proteins, and endogenous hormones ABA and IAA in the fruit significantly increased. Under the exogenous ABA treatments, the contents of these four endogenous substances in the fruits were significantly higher than they were in the control group at the same time period, and ABA and IAA seemed to be synergistically involved in the luffa fruit-ripening process. An analysis of the luffa transcriptome data and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) experiments showed that multiple LcPYR/PYLs (e.g., LcPYL10 and LcPYR4) had differential expression levels in the seven different tissues and exogenous ABA-treated fruits that were analysed, suggesting their roles in ABA hormone-mediated ripening of luffa fruit. Together, the results provide basic information about the LcPYR/PYL family in L. cylindrica and their involvement in fruit development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vegetable Adaptation and Mitigation of Abiotic Stress)
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15 pages, 11483 KiB  
Article
Brassinolide Promotes the Growth of Zanthixylum schinifolium by Improving Photosynthetic Efficiency and Antioxidant Capacity
by Huaru Liang, Ying Yang, Xiaoxue Li, Liu Hu, Chong Sun, Xia Liu, Lijuan Wei and Jin Zhu
Agronomy 2024, 14(12), 2892; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14122892 - 4 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 955
Abstract
As a plant growth regulator, brassinolide (BL) is essential for enhancing plant growth and development. Studies on how BL affects the growth and development of prickly ash (Zanthixylum schinifolium) are scarce, nevertheless. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate [...] Read more.
As a plant growth regulator, brassinolide (BL) is essential for enhancing plant growth and development. Studies on how BL affects the growth and development of prickly ash (Zanthixylum schinifolium) are scarce, nevertheless. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate how Z. schinifolium growth and development were affected by the application of BL (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 mg/L). According to the results, the 0.4 mg/L BL treatment had improved the plant height and leaf length after 30 days of treatment, which was displayed in an increase of 8.75% and 20.48%, respectively, when compared to the control (distilled water). On day 30, Z. schinifolium’s basal diameter, leaf breadth, compound leaf length, and leaf weight all rose noticeably after treatment with 0.4 mg/L BL. Furthermore, the 0.4 mg/L BL treatment raised the levels of osmotic substances (proline, soluble sugar, and soluble protein) and photosynthesis parameters (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, PSII, Fv/Fm, NPQ, and qP) in Z. schinifolium compared to the control. It also decreased the levels of malonaldehyde, increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes (POD, SOD, CAT, and APX), and increased the contents of non-enzymatic antioxidants (ASA and GSH). Accordingly, these findings implied that BL might be crucial in fostering Z. schinifolium growth and development by boosting antioxidant capacity, decreasing malonaldehyde concentration, preserving water balance, and improving photosynthesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vegetable Adaptation and Mitigation of Abiotic Stress)
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Review

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19 pages, 1264 KiB  
Review
Cysteine Thiol-Based Oxidative Post-Translational Modifications Fine-Tune Protein Functions in Plants
by Hongxin Li, Xiaoyun Wang, Ying Liu, Peiyang Zhang, Fuyuan Chen, Na Zhang, Bing Zhao and Yang-Dong Guo
Agronomy 2024, 14(12), 2757; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14122757 - 21 Nov 2024
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Abstract
Post-translational modification is a prerequisite for the functions of intracellular proteins. Thiol-based oxidative post-translational modifications (OxiPTMs) mainly include S-sulfenylation, S-nitrosation, persulfidation, and S-glutathionylation. Reactive electrophilic species can reversibly or irreversibly oxidize redox-sensitive proteins, thereby exerting dual effects on plant growth, development, and environmental [...] Read more.
Post-translational modification is a prerequisite for the functions of intracellular proteins. Thiol-based oxidative post-translational modifications (OxiPTMs) mainly include S-sulfenylation, S-nitrosation, persulfidation, and S-glutathionylation. Reactive electrophilic species can reversibly or irreversibly oxidize redox-sensitive proteins, thereby exerting dual effects on plant growth, development, and environmental stress. Recent studies have shown that transcription factors (TFs) are main targets of OxiPTMs. The majority of TFs transmit redox signals by altering their transcriptional activity, while some non-transcription factors can also accept post-translational redox modifications. Here, we provide an overview of the known types of OxiPTMs, the reactive electrophilic species that induce OxiPTMs, and the significance of OxiPTMs in fine-tuning TF and non-TF proteins. This review will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamic regulation of protein functions in response to stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vegetable Adaptation and Mitigation of Abiotic Stress)
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