Mechanisms of Environmental Stress Tolerance in Forage and Turfgrass

Dear Colleagues,

The growth and development of forage and turf grass are limited by several factors of which abiotic and biotic stresses are among the most damaging. The most common abiotic stresses are water deficit, excess water, high and low temperature, salinity, nutrient deficiency and heavy metal, while the biotic stresses are pathogens, pests and weeds. Climate change is predicted to increase the occurrence of extreme weather events and, thus, also abiotic stresses. Solutions to increase forage and turf grass tolerance and minimize the effects of abiotic stresses on growth and development have been actively sought.

Many of the grass traits resulting in increased abiotic and biotic stress tolerance involve an interplay of several factors, such as proteins, hormones, metabolites and genes, which make them difficult to investigate and modify. Furthermore, different stress factors may cause osmotic, oxidative and ionic stress, leading to cellular adaptive responses—for example, accumulation of osmolytes, induction of stress proteins, and acceleration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging systems. Exposure to a stress factor can also lead to tolerance against a wide range of future abiotic stress events, such as priming, acclimation, conditioning, hardening, or cross-stress tolerance. Significant steps have been taken in understanding the physiology and molecular biology of forage and turf grass abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, and updates on the most recent accomplishments will be provided on this exceptional topic.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a forum for recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of environmental stress tolerance in forage and turfgrass responses to abiotic and biotic stresses, mainly focusing on phenotypic and physiological responses, and by using genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic approaches to study abiotic and biotic stress mechanisms. Original research articles and concepts for review articles to address major issues are welcome.

Dr. Longxing Hu
Guest Editor

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