Research on Plant Functional Genomics and Stress Response

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding how the structure and function of the genome enables plant perception and response to the environment is not only increasingly relevant, but also dramatically urgent.

The growing number of sequenced genomes, from model plants to different crops and forest species, has paved the way to disclose evolutionary aspects and improve our understanding of the determination of morphophysiological traits, metabolic behaviour, and capacity to interact with other organisms and respond to stress conditions. New genes and alleles are being identified and their roles disclosed, bioinformatics tools are accelerating predictions, numerous strategies of forward and reverse genetics allow to test them, and diverse phenotyping platforms allow both lab and field assessments of plant behaviour and productivity.

All currently available tools allow us to better define breeding programs and to develop the improved plants that we need to face the ever-growing biotic and abiotic challenges imposed by climate change, the growing human population, and the limited resources available.

For this Special Issue, we welcome original research as well as review articles covering all aspects influencing plant response to stress, of either a biotic or abiotic nature. We welcome subjects extending from the plant genomics and epigenomics level, to genomics-assisted breeding, including the molecular uncovering of plant–microbe interactions that potentially benefit plant responses to stress.

Prof. Dr. M. Margarida Oliveira
Dr. Tiago Lourenço
Guest Editors

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