Genetic and Genomic Innovations for Developing Resilient Crops

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 November 2025 | Viewed by 34

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada
Interests: molecular biology; crop improvement; plant nutrient use efficiency; abiotic stress
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada
Interests: plant molecular biology; protein ubiquitination; genomic; abiotic stress

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change and unsustainable agricultural practices are intensifying abiotic stresses such as drought, heat, salinity, and nutrient deficiencies, posing a critical challenge to global crop productivity and food security. In response to these growing threats and the rising demand for food, it has become increasingly important to understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying stress tolerance and to translate these insights into effective crop improvement strategies.

This Special Issue aims at highlighting recent advances in genomic and genetic approaches for improving crop resilience to abiotic stresses. We invite researchers to contribute original research articles, reviews, and short communications that focus on the identification and functional analysis of stress-responsive genes, transcriptomic responses, QTL mapping, and the application of gene editing and molecular breeding techniques to enhance stress tolerance in crops.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Identification and functional characterization of genes involved in abiotic stress tolerance;
  • Transcriptomic profiling of crops under drought, heat, and nutrient deficiency conditions;
  • Functional analysis of gene families in plant stress responses;
  • QTL mapping and candidate gene discovery for stress-related traits;
  • Integration of multi-omics (genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics) for stress resilience;
  • Application of CRISPR/Cas and other gene-editing technologies in crop stress improvement;
  • Genomic selection and marker-assisted breeding strategies;
  • Translational research bridging model plants and crop species.

We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions to this Special Issue and to advancing the development of climate-resilient crops.

Dr. Huajin Sheng
Dr. Sheng Wang
Guest Editors

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. 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

  • crop improvement
  • abiotic stress
  • gene function
  • transcriptomics
  • gene editing
  • molecular breeding

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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