Redesigning Crop Genomes: Innovative Strategies for Disease Management in Cucurbits
A Special Issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395) belonging to the section "Crop Breeding and Genetics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 428
Editors
Interests: genome editing; CRISPR/Cas; base editing; prime editing; abiotic stress tolerance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cucurbits, a diverse family that includes cucumber, melon, squash, and watermelon, represent some of the world’s most economically important vegetable crops; however, their productivity and quality are persistently threatened by a wide range of biotic stresses, including viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases. Traditional breeding efforts have contributed significantly to disease management, yet the complex inheritance patterns, limited resistance sources, and rapid pathogen evolution continue to pose major challenges.
Recent advances in genomics, genome editing, and molecular breeding are revolutionizing how we approach disease resistance in crops. The integration of high-throughput sequencing, pan-genomics, transcriptomics, and CRISPR-based technologies now allows for the precise identification and manipulation of key resistance genes, regulatory RNAs, and signalling networks that govern plant–pathogen interactions. Such tools not only accelerate the development of resistant cultivars but also open up opportunities to redesign cucurbit genomes for enhanced resilience and sustainable production.
This Special Issue, “Redesigning Crop Genomes: Innovative Strategies for Disease Management in Cucurbits,” aims to bring together cutting-edge research and reviews focusing on genomic innovations for combating plant diseases. Topics of interest include—but are not limited to—genome editing and transformation strategies, functional genomics of disease resistance, molecular mechanisms underlying host–pathogen interactions, and the application of bioinformatics and systems biology in cucurbit improvement.
Through this collection, we hope to provide a comprehensive overview of current progress, emerging challenges, and future prospects in leveraging genome redesign to ensure the sustainability and productivity of cucurbit crops worldwide.
Dr. Subramanyam Chireddy
Dr. Cristina Esteras
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 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. Agronomy 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
- genome editing
- CRISPR/Cas
- base editing
- prime editing
- cucurbits
- stress-responsive genes
- epigenetics
- synthetic biology
- multi-omics integration
- translational agriculture
- disease management
- sustainable crop improvement
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