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Biology
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Responses and Resistance Mechanisms of Plants Under Environmental Stress
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Responses and Resistance Mechanisms of Plants Under Environmental Stress

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 3377

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Aoxue Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Interests: tomato; cold tolerance; defense priming
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, with the intensification of global climate change, plants have been increasingly exposed to severe environmental stresses. Non-biological stresses—such as drought, salinity, heavy metal pollution, low temperature, high temperature—and biological stresses—encompassing pests and diseases—have significantly impacted plant growth and yield. To better understand their effects on plants and develop effective mitigation strategies, it is particularly important to delve into the study of plant resistance mechanisms.

We encourage you to submit your latest research findings on how plants perceive and respond to environmental stresses, especially those involving new stress resistance mechanisms, resistance regulation, and genetic basis. Additionally, we welcome discussions on how to utilize this knowledge to improve crop stress tolerance and enhance agricultural production efficiency.

We look forward to your contributions in advancing the development of plant stress mechanisms and utilization.

Prof. Dr. Aoxue Wang
Guest Editor

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology 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 2700 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

  • disease resistance
  • cold tolerance
  • defense priming
  • pathogen perception

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 12555 KB  
Article
COP9 Signalosome Subunit SlCSN5-3 Positively Regulates Resistance to Gray Mold Disease in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Through Jasmonic Acid Pathway
by Rui Lv, Hecheng Sun, Fulei Mo, Shusen Liu, Zhao Liu, Xiuling Chen, Yuxin Liu and Aoxue Wang
Biology 2025, 14(12), 1635; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14121635 - 21 Nov 2025
Viewed by 237
Abstract
CSN5 is one of the subunits of the COP9 signalosome, which can regulate plant life activities by participating in the ubiquitination process. It is also positively correlated with JA signal intensity in plants and regulates JA-dependent plant defense responses. In this study, a [...] Read more.
CSN5 is one of the subunits of the COP9 signalosome, which can regulate plant life activities by participating in the ubiquitination process. It is also positively correlated with JA signal intensity in plants and regulates JA-dependent plant defense responses. In this study, a total of three CSN5 family genes were identified in tomatoes and a systematic bioinformatics analysis was performed to clarify their similarities and differences. In addition, by analyzing the publicly available transcriptome data and qRT-PCR experiments, it was found that SlCSN5-2 and SlCSN5-3 were up-regulated under gray mold disease stress, and the potential key gene SlCSN5-3 was up-regulated most significantly. Silencing SlCSN5-3 in tomatoes resulted in reduced resistance to gray mold disease, and it was clear that SlCSN5-3 positively regulates tomatoes’ resistance to gray mold disease through the JA pathway. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Responses and Resistance Mechanisms of Plants Under Environmental Stress)
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15 pages, 1671 KB  
Article
Drivers of Shrub Community Assembly in Semi-Arid Ecosystems: Integrated Evidence from Environmental Stress on the Western Loess Plateau
by Minghao Li, Han Dang, Jiawei Du, Dan Liu, Tong Yu, Jinshi Xu, Biao Han, Ping Ding and Dechang Hu
Biology 2025, 14(11), 1465; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14111465 - 22 Oct 2025
Viewed by 373
Abstract
Shrub communities play an irreplaceable role in maintaining ecological security in the stressed habitat areas of Northwest China. In these areas, multiple types of shrublands coexist simultaneously. Their diversity levels and community assembly processes may perform different patterns along different stress gradients. This [...] Read more.
Shrub communities play an irreplaceable role in maintaining ecological security in the stressed habitat areas of Northwest China. In these areas, multiple types of shrublands coexist simultaneously. Their diversity levels and community assembly processes may perform different patterns along different stress gradients. This study using linear model fitting, principal component analysis, analyzed the species and phylogenetic diversity of desert, alpine, and secondary shrublands along the gradients of environmental stress factors such as topography, soil, and climate, which reflect low temperature, human disturbance, and drought stress habitats. The changing trend of the phylogenetic structure of different types of shrublands was also studied with using variance decomposition, and phylogenetic structure analysis, which reveals their diversity maintenance mechanisms along environmental stress gradients. The research shows that (1) the mean annual temperature is the main environmental factor shaping the diversity patterns and maintenance processes of shrub communities because low temperatures may lead to habitat filtering; (2) in the western Loess Plateau, the community assembly of different types of shrublands is dominated by deterministic processes, but the diversity and assembly patterns of different shrublands are inconsistent across different environmental stress gradients. Systematic research on the diversity characteristics and assembly patterns of different shrub communities is of great significance for clarifying the restoration, succession, and stability of stressed habitat areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Responses and Resistance Mechanisms of Plants Under Environmental Stress)
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20 pages, 6053 KB  
Article
Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Role of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Response to Drought Stress in Tibetan Hulless Barley
by Zitao Wang, Yue Fang, Qinyue Min, Kaifeng Zheng, Yanrong Pang, Jinyuan Chen, Feng Qiao and Shengcheng Han
Biology 2025, 14(7), 737; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14070737 - 20 Jun 2025
Viewed by 874
Abstract
LncRNAs, a type of RNAs exceeding 200 nucleotides (nt) and lacking representative open reading frames (ORFs), have emerged as crucial regulatory molecules that modulate numerous growth and development processes in plants. While substantial progress has been made in interpreting the functions and regulatory [...] Read more.
LncRNAs, a type of RNAs exceeding 200 nucleotides (nt) and lacking representative open reading frames (ORFs), have emerged as crucial regulatory molecules that modulate numerous growth and development processes in plants. While substantial progress has been made in interpreting the functions and regulatory mechanisms of coding RNAs, the study of lncRNAs in Tibetan hulless barley remains incomplete. To elucidate the coordination of drought stress responses in Tibetan hulless barely by lncRNAs, we analyzed the previously published RNA-seq data from two cultivars of hulless barley, drought-tolerant (Z772) and drought-sensitive (Z013), subjected to varying durations of drought treatment (0, 1, and 5 h). Initially, we identified a total of 2877 lncRNAs through a strict pipeline, of which 2179 were co-expressed in both cultivars. Additionally, 331 and 367 lncRNAs showed cultivar-specific expression patterns in Z772 and Z013, respectively. Given the trans-regulatory functions of lncRNAs, we utilized WGCNA and uncovered 11 modules that were enriched in drought-responsive pathways. Within these modules, lncRNAs and neighboring PCGs were co-clustered in key control modules. The GO enrichment analysis of potential lncRNA-PCG pairs primarily involved processes related to the response to water deprivation, regulation of abiotic stress, and RNA metabolic processes. Notably, 12 high-confidence lncRNA-PCG pairs displayed concordant expression profiles, with some annotated as TFs. Two of these pairs were validated by qRT-PCR in the Tibetan hulless barley cultivar Kunlun 14. These findings suggested that lncRNAs may participate in regulatory networks involved in drought adaptation in Tibetan hulless barley, offering novel insights into the drought resistance mechanisms of Poaceae crops and potential targets for breeding drought-resistant varieties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Responses and Resistance Mechanisms of Plants Under Environmental Stress)
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19 pages, 9350 KB  
Article
Physiological Adaptation to Different Heavy Metal Stress in Seedlings of Halophyte Suaeda liaotungensis
by Jieqiong Song, Xiaoqi Cao, Ruixuan An, Haoran Ding, Wen Wang, Yahan Zhou, Chunyan Wu, Yizihan Cao, Hongfei Wang, Changping Li and Qiuli Li
Biology 2025, 14(3), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14030260 - 5 Mar 2025
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1549
Abstract
Soil contamination with heavy metals is a worldwide environmental issue that impacts plant growth and human health. This study is the first to investigate the tolerance and physiological response mechanism of Suaeda liaotungensis seedlings to heavy metal stress. The results exhibited that the [...] Read more.
Soil contamination with heavy metals is a worldwide environmental issue that impacts plant growth and human health. This study is the first to investigate the tolerance and physiological response mechanism of Suaeda liaotungensis seedlings to heavy metal stress. The results exhibited that the toxicity degree of Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn to Suaeda liaotungensis seedlings was highest for Cd and lowest for Pb. Heavy metal stress increased H2O2 levels in seedlings, thereby aggravating lipid peroxidation of the cell membrane and consequently increasing MDA content. Meanwhile, the SOD and CAT activities in seedlings increased under heavy metal stress, whereas POD activity decreased consistently under Cd and Zn stress. The soluble sugars and proline content in seedlings also showed an increasing trend under heavy metal stress. Furthermore, the tolerance in the seedlings from black seeds to Pb and Cd stress was improved by enhancing SOD and CAT activities and accumulating proline. However, the tolerance in the seedlings from brown seeds to Cu stress was improved by increasing CAT activity as well as accumulating soluble sugar and proline content. The results reveal the response mechanism of Suaeda liaotungensis seedlings to heavy metal stress and provide the basis for utilizing Suaeda liaotungensis to improve heavy metal-contaminated saline soil. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Responses and Resistance Mechanisms of Plants Under Environmental Stress)
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