Molecular Genetics of Stress Response in Crops

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2025 | Viewed by 443

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agro‐Environment and Agro‐Products Safety, Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Tillage, College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Interests: cell wall remodeling; programmed cell death; protein ubiquitination; plant hormones

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change has led to increasingly severe abiotic stresses such as drought, extreme temperatures, and aluminum, which have led to a considerable reduction in crop yields. The cultivation of crops with increased stress adaptation is extremely important for ensuring food security in the world. As a consequence, plants have evolved a set of perception and signaling mechanisms to respond or adapt to adverse environmental conditions via gene expression regulation and protein translation, modification, and degradation. Better understanding of the physiological, biochemical, cellular, and molecular mechanisms of crops in response to stresses is pivotal for enhancing stress resistance/tolerance.

This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality articles uncovering the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying crop responses to stresses, including studies that involve the following:

- Exploring the underlying mechanisms contributing to crop stress resistance/tolerance;

- Developing novel methods and biotechnological strategies for improving crop stress resistance/tolerance.

Original research papers, reviews, and short communications can be submitted to the Special Issue.

Dr. Jie Zhan
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • crop
  • abiotic stresses
  • protein translation
  • regulation
  • molecular mechanism
  • plant hormones

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 10748 KB  
Article
GhTGA2, a Potential Key Regulator of Salt Stress Response: Insights from Genome-Wide Identification of TGA Family Genes Across Ten Cotton Species
by Lu Meng, Jiliang Fan, Shandang Shi, Faren Zhu, Ganggang Zhang, Junwei Wang, Zihan Li, Fei Wang and Hongbin Li
Genes 2025, 16(10), 1143; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes16101143 - 26 Sep 2025
Viewed by 280
Abstract
Background: The TGACG-BINDING FACTORS (TGA) gene family, a key subgroup of bZIP transcription factors, mediates plant stress responses and developmental processes by binding to the as-1 cis-element in target gene promoters to regulate transcriptional activation or repression. Despite its functional significance, systematic [...] Read more.
Background: The TGACG-BINDING FACTORS (TGA) gene family, a key subgroup of bZIP transcription factors, mediates plant stress responses and developmental processes by binding to the as-1 cis-element in target gene promoters to regulate transcriptional activation or repression. Despite its functional significance, systematic characterization of TGA genes in cotton (Gossypium spp.) remains insufficient. Methods: In this study, we performed a comprehensive genome-wide identification and phylogenetic analysis of TGA members across 10 Gossypium species and verified the functions of candidate genes using VIGS technology. Results: A total of 74 TGA homologous genes with conserved DOG1 and bZIP domains were identified. Evolutionary analysis revealed that the cotton TGA gene family can be classified into five distinct branches, suggesting functional diversification. Functional prediction analyses indicated these genes in cotton growth regulation and stress adaptation, potentially through hormone-mediated signaling pathways. Expression profiling demonstrated both tissue-specific expression patterns and salt-stress responsiveness in Gossypium hirsutum TGA genes, and GhTGA2 exhibited the most significant up-regulated expression under salt stress. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS)-mediated GhTGA2 silencing significantly reduced the salt tolerance in cotton. Conclusions: The TGA gene family is involved in regulating cotton growth, development, and stress responses, and plays a critical role in mediating salt stress tolerance in cotton. Our results provide mechanistic insights into cotton stress adaptation and establish a valuable genetic resource for developing elite salt-tolerant cotton cultivars, with direct implications for sustainable cotton production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Genetics of Stress Response in Crops)
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