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Biology
Special Issues
Plant Stress Physiology: A Trait Perspective
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Plant Stress Physiology: A Trait Perspective

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 324

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shuang-Xi Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, Kensington, Australia
Interests: drought; salinity; crop nutrition; canopy and root management; sodic soil; soil amelioration; stress physiology; stress resilience; sustainable production system; water use efficiency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
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
Prof. Dr. Yanchang Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: fruit physiology; fruit development regulation; new cultivar breeding

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biotic and abiotic stresses along the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum can affect plant photosynthesis, hydraulics, metabolism, stoichiometry, development, growth, and survival, through modifying traits at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organ, whole-plant, community, and/or ecosystem levels. Studying the stress-induced modifications of these key traits (e.g., photosynthetic and hydraulic traits, metabolic traits, stoichiometric traits, etc.), and their interrelationships will help us to better understand and predict stress consequences at various levels. It can also help us select suitable plant materials for the success of climate preparedness practices.

For this Special Issue, we welcome submissions of all article types within the scope of Biology journal, including original research and reviews that dissect the plant trait responses to biotic and/or abiotic stresses. We encourage contributions involving experiments conducted both in the field and under controlled environments, as well as work involving modeling, experiment-model integration, and meta-analyses. Both fundamental and applied research papers are welcome, including studies on cultivated crops and agricultural systems. Quantitative studies that report responses of crop growth, yield, or quality to environmental changes (e.g., climate, soil, management practices, etc.) will be considered relevant if they advance our physiological understanding of these responses. Articles proposing novel practices to mitigate the negative effects of stress on plants are also within scope, provided they are supported by a hypothesized and at least partially demonstrated mechanism.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Short-term stress, prolonged stress, and post-stress recovery;
  • Above- and below-ground trait responses, their interactions, and coordinated mechanisms;
  • Source–sink relationships, carbon and water trade-offs, and the interface between carbon, nitrogen, and other biogeochemical fluxes at various scales;
  • Trait-based resource acquisition and investment strategies;
  • Trait-based stress resilience to maintain or enhance plant functions;
  • Interactions among multiple biotic or abiotic stresses or between biotic and biotic stresses;

Experiment and modelling integration.

Dr. Shuang-Xi Zhou
Prof. Dr. Aoxue Wang
Prof. Dr. Yanchang Wang
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. 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

  • photosynthetic traits
  • hydraulic traits
  • metabolic traits
  • stoichiometric traits
  • molecular traits
  • trait plasticity
  • trait adjustment
  • stress adaptation
  • climate resilience

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3734 KiB  
Article
Limitations of the Farquhar–Von Caemmerer–Berry Model in Estimating the Maximum Electron Transport Rate: Evidence from Four C3 Species
by Zipiao Ye, Wenhai Hu, Shuangxi Zhou, Piotr Robakowski, Huajing Kang, Ting An, Fubiao Wang, Yi’an Xiao and Xiaolong Yang
Biology 2025, 14(6), 630; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14060630 - 29 May 2025
Abstract
The study evaluates the accuracy of two FvCB model sub-models (I and II) in estimating the maximum electron transport rate for CO2 assimilation (JA-max) by comparing estimated values with observed maximum electron transport rates (Jf-max) in [...] Read more.
The study evaluates the accuracy of two FvCB model sub-models (I and II) in estimating the maximum electron transport rate for CO2 assimilation (JA-max) by comparing estimated values with observed maximum electron transport rates (Jf-max) in four C3 species: Triticum aestivum L., Silphium perfoliatum L., Lolium perenne L., and Trifolium pratense L. Significant discrepancies were found between JA-max estimates from sub-model I and observed Jf-max values for T. aestivum, S. perfoliatum, and T. pratense (p < 0.05), with sub-model I overestimating JA-max for T. aestivum. Sub-model II consistently produced higher JA-max estimates than sub-model I. This study highlights limitations in the FvCB sub-models, particularly their tendency to overestimate JA-max when accounting for electron consumption by photorespiration (JO), nitrate reduction (JNit), and the Mehler reaction (JMAP). An alternative empirical model provided more accurate Jf-max estimates, suggesting the need for improved approaches to model photosynthetic electron transport. These findings have important implications for crop yield prediction, ecological modeling, and climate change adaptation strategies, emphasizing the need for more accurate estimation methods in plant physiology research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Stress Physiology: A Trait Perspective)
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15 pages, 20198 KiB  
Article
Mechanistic Modeling Reveals Adaptive Photosynthetic Strategies of Pontederia crassipes: Implications for Aquatic Plant Physiology and Invasion Dynamics
by Lihua Liu, Xiaolong Yang, Piotr Robakowski, Zipiao Ye, Fubiao Wang and Shuangxi Zhou
Biology 2025, 14(6), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14060600 - 25 May 2025
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Abstract
The invasive aquatic macrophyte Pontederia crassipes (water hyacinth) exhibits exceptional adaptability across a wide range of light environments, yet the mechanistic basis of its photosynthetic plasticity under both high- and low-light stress remains poorly resolved. This study integrated chlorophyll fluorescence and gas-exchange analyses [...] Read more.
The invasive aquatic macrophyte Pontederia crassipes (water hyacinth) exhibits exceptional adaptability across a wide range of light environments, yet the mechanistic basis of its photosynthetic plasticity under both high- and low-light stress remains poorly resolved. This study integrated chlorophyll fluorescence and gas-exchange analyses to evaluate three photosynthetic models—rectangular hyperbola (RH), non-rectangular hyperbola (NRH), and the Ye mechanistic model—in capturing light-response dynamics in P. crassipes. The Ye model provided superior accuracy (R2 > 0.996) in simulating the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) and electron transport rate (J), outperforming empirical models that overestimated Pnmax by 36–46% and Jmax by 1.5–24.7% and failed to predict saturation light intensity. Mechanistic analysis revealed that P. crassipes maintains high photosynthetic efficiency in low light (LUEmax = 0.030 mol mol−1 at 200 µmol photons m−2 s−1) and robust photoprotection under strong light (NPQmax = 1.375, PSII efficiency decline), supported by a large photosynthetic pigment pool (9.46 × 1016 molecules m−2) and high eigen-absorption cross-section (1.91 × 10−21 m2). Unlike terrestrial plants, its floating leaves experience enhanced irradiance due to water-surface reflection and are decoupled from water limitation via submerged root uptake, enabling flexible stomatal and energy regulation. Distinct thresholds for carboxylation efficiency (CEmax = 0.085 mol m−2 s−1) and water-use efficiency (WUEi-max = 45.91 μmol mol−1 and WUEinst = 1.96 μmol mmol−1) highlighted its flexible energy management strategies. These results establish the Ye model as a reliable tool for characterizing aquatic photosynthesis and reveal how P. crassipes balances light harvesting and dissipation to thrive in fluctuating environments. These resulting insights have implications for both understanding invasiveness and managing eutrophic aquatic systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Stress Physiology: A Trait Perspective)
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