Horticultural Functional Genomics and Breeding
A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics and Genomics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 232
Editor
Interests: cucumber molecular genetics; genomics; cucumber breeding
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Horticultural crops, including vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals, play a crucial role in global food security and human nutrition. With the rapid development of genomics, multi-omics integration, and genome editing technologies, functional genomics has become a central driving force in accelerating trait dissection and precision breeding in horticulture.
This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in gene discovery, regulatory mechanisms, and molecular breeding strategies in horticultural species. Particular attention will be paid to forward and reverse genetics, GWAS- and BSA-based gene mapping, transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, hormone signaling pathways, genome editing technologies, and marker-assisted or genomic selection approaches.
Recent breakthroughs in high-throughput sequencing, phenotyping platforms, and CRISPR-based editing have greatly enhanced our capacity to bridge gene function with agronomic improvement. We welcome original research articles and reviews that integrate functional genomics with breeding applications, especially studies addressing yield, quality traits, stress tolerance, and developmental regulation in horticultural crops.
Dr. Hanqiang Liu
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genes 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
- functional genomics
- multi-omics integration
- epigenetic regulation
- gene regulatory networks
- forward genetics
- GWAS
- genome engineering
- molecular breeding
- precision breeding
- trait dissection
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.
