Tree Epigenetic Diversity and Its Role in Tree Adaptation
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics and Molecular Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editors
Interests: protection and management of forest genetic resources; genetic and epigenetic diversity; population genetics; molecular and conservation genetics; forest genetic monitoring
Interests: population genetics; epigenetics; quantitative trait loci; genetic mapping; molecular markers; forest epigenetic monitoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Trees play an important role in global biodiversity, the carbon cycle, and climate regulation. Their long lifespan requires exceptional adaptive strategies to cope with environmental stresses such as drought, pathogens, and extreme temperatures. Traditionally, adaptation in trees has been studied in the light of genetic diversity. However, it has been shown that epigenetic diversity can significantly influence how trees respond to environmental stresses. Epigenetic mechanisms (DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs) play a critical role in regulating gene expression and activating phenotypic plasticity in response to changing climatic conditions. These mechanisms allow trees to rapidly adapt traits such as leaf morphology, flowering time, and stress tolerance without requiring changes to DNA sequence. This flexibility is critical for coping with short-term fluctuations in environmental conditions. In some tree species, environmentally induced epigenetic states are passed to offspring, a phenomenon known as transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. While the stability of such marks remains under investigation, this mechanism offers a potential pathway for rapid evolutionary responses in long-lived organisms.
In this Special Issue, we review the latest developments and perspectives in the field of epigenetic diversity in trees, including its main mechanisms, how it contributes to environmental response and long-term adaptation, the potential for epigenetic traits to be inherited from generation to generation, whether it affects the resilience of forests to ever-changing climate conditions, management strategies, and new technologies applied to the protection and conservation of forest ecosystems. Submissions of original research articles and reviews are welcome.
Dr. Ermioni Malliarou
Dr. Evangelia V. Avramidou
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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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. Forests 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 2600 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
- climate change
- epigenetic diversity
- adaptation
- forest species
- molecular methods
- DNA methylation
- conservation
- histone modification
- non-coding RNAs
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