Molecular Biology and Genetic Breeding of Tree Stress Resistance

Dear Colleagues,

Forest ecosystems play a pivotal role in maintaining the global carbon balance, conserving biodiversity, and providing forest and fruit resources. However, under the influence of global climate change and intensive human activities, the intensity and frequency of outbreaks of abiotic stresses (such as drought, soil salinization, and extreme high temperatures) and biotic stresses (such as insect pests and pathogens) have surged dramatically. As perennial woody plants, trees possess unique biological characteristics (such as long generation cycles, high heterozygosity, and huge genomes), which determine that their molecular mechanisms in response to adversity differ significantly from those of annual herbaceous plants. Deeply dissecting the molecular networks by which trees perceive and transmit stress signals and generate resistance responses, integrating multi-omics data to mine key resistance genes, and utilizing modern biotechnological tools for genetic improvement of stress resistance are currently the hotspots and challenges in forest tree genetic breeding research.

Topics and Scope:

This Special Issue aims to collate the latest research advances in the field of tree stress resistance, focusing on comprehensive studies ranging from multi-omics perspectives and molecular mechanism exploration to genetic breeding applications. We welcome original research articles, reviews, and commentaries covering the following (but not limited to) topics:

Perception and Transduction of Stress Signals: Receptor mechanisms by which trees perceive drought, high salinity, heavy metals, temperature stresses, as well as insect pests and diseases. This includes, but is not limited to, the interaction networks of Ca²⁺ signaling, reactive oxygen species (ROS) bursts, and hormone signaling (such as ABA, ethylene, and jasmonic acid) in tree stress resistance.

Functional Genomics of Stress Resistance Genes: Mining key candidate genes for tree stress resistance based on multi-omics (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics). Examples include tree stress memory and epigenetic modifications mediated by DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs (miRNA, siRNA, lncRNA).

Evaluation of Stress Resistance Germplasm Resources and Gene Mining: Screening and evaluation of stress-resistant germplasm resources for major afforestation tree species (such as poplar, eucalyptus, pine, oak, etc.) and rare and endangered tree species. This includes, but is not limited to, GWAS analysis associated with stress resistance traits, QTL mapping, candidate gene mining, and strategies such as molecular marker-assisted breeding (MAS), genomic selection (GS), and BSA for tree stress resistance.

Tree-Microbe Interactions to Enhance Stress Resistance: Molecular mechanisms and applications of endophytes and mycorrhizal fungi in enhancing tree stress resistance (disease resistance, salt resistance, and drought resistance).

Dr. Shaofei Tong
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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