Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Adaptation and Stress Tolerance Under Changing Environmental Conditions
A special issue of Current Issues in Molecular Biology (ISSN 1467-3045). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 545
Special Issue Editor
2. College of Education Sciences (CES), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511453, China
Interests: plant genetics and genomics; molecular plant physiology; plant breeding and genetics; synthetic biology; abiotic stress; secondary metabolism; plant growth and development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Rapid environmental change is reshaping the way plants grow, develop, and survive. Extreme temperatures, prolonged droughts, salinity intrusion, flooding, nutrient imbalances, shifting photoperiods, and emerging pathogens now occur more frequently and often in combination. Elevated CO2 (eCO2) adds another layer: it can enhance photosynthesis and biomass, yet rewire carbon–nitrogen balance, stomatal behavior, secondary metabolism, and defense mechanisms. eCO2 rarely acts alone; its effects modulate and are modulated by water deficit, heat, ozone, and nutrient limitations, yielding outcomes that are genotype-, tissue-, and stage-specific. These stresses trigger complex and sometimes antagonistic molecular responses, challenging the resilience of even the most adaptable species.
Despite extensive progress in plant genomics, physiology, and breeding, we still lack an integrated understanding of how plants perceive, prioritize, and coordinate defense and adaptation across diverse and fluctuating environmental conditions. This Special Issue seeks contributions that move beyond single-factor analyses to unravel the molecular circuitry, signaling crosstalk, and physiological adjustments underpinning tolerance to combined and sequential stresses. By integrating molecular biology, systems-level omics, physiology, and predictive modeling studies, we aim to bridge the gap between controlled experiments and real-world agricultural and ecological contexts.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Decoding integrators and crosstalk among hormone, redox, sugar, TOR/SnRK1, and calcium signaling under multi-stress conditions.
- Understanding carbon–nitrogen reallocation and metabolic remodeling (primary, secondary, and structural) that govern tolerance vs. yield.
- Disentangling root–soil–microbiome mechanisms, including rhizosphere signaling and nutrient acquisition under eCO2 and abiotic stress.
- Mapping spatial and temporal heterogeneity via single-cell/spatial omics, real-time imaging, and high-throughput phenotyping.
- Leveraging natural variation, pangenomes, epigenetic memory, and genome editing to identify deployable tolerance traits.
- Mechanism-anchored engineering (CRISPR/prime editing, synthetic circuits) and predictive modeling/AI that generalize from growth chambers to fields.
Original research, short communications, methods/resources, data papers, and concise mechanistic reviews that integrate multi-omics, physiology, and modeling are encouraged. Studies on crops, trees, and model plants are all in scope, especially those validating targets across environments.
Dr. Naveed Ahmad
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 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. Current Issues in Molecular 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 2200 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
- elevated CO2
- drought–heat–salinity
- carbon–nitrogen balance
- TOR/SnRK1
- hormone crosstalk
- redox signaling
- microbiome
- single-cell/spatial omics
- phenomics
- genome editing
- predictive breeding
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
