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Horticulturae
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Advances in Genetic Strategies for Enhancing Phytopathogen Tolerance in Horticultural...
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Advances in Genetic Strategies for Enhancing Phytopathogen Tolerance in Horticultural Crops

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics, Genomics, Breeding, and Biotechnology (G2B2)".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2026) | Viewed by 1156

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Subas Malla

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840, USA
Interests: crop genetics and breeding; tissue culture; host-pathogen interaction; genomics; bacterial systematics; integrated pest management; gene editing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Subhankar Mandal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Applied Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ 85212, USA
Interests: genetic improvement of horticultural crops; crop resilience; pollinator health and habitats; flavor enhancement of fruits and vegetables; genetic diversity and heirloom cultivation; nutritional security and poverty alleviation; sustainable and organic production; precision agriculture; controlled and urban horticulture
Dr. Songtao Jiu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: horticultural genetic resources; genomics; molecular breeding; phytohormone; molecular biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global food security is at risk due to increased pathogen pressure because of climate change, limited resources, and intensive farming. Increasing food production by improving horticultural crops’ genetic tolerance to phytopathogens has become critical. Climate-resilient cultivars not only reduce reliance on chemical pesticides, which can harm the environment and human health, but also contribute to sustainable agricultural practices.

The Special Issue “Advances in Genetic Strategies for Enhancing Phytopathogen Tolerance in Horticultural Crops” aims at gathering innovative genetic approaches, including molecular breeding, gene editing, and genomic selection, that improve resilience in fruit, vegetable, and ornamental plants. Contributions that explore disease resistance in crops through genetics, the identification of resistance genes, host–pathogen interactions, and the application of biotechnology are encouraged. This Special Issue will serve as a valuable resource for researchers, breeders, and agronomists dedicated to sustainable crop protection, resilience, and yield improvement in horticulture.

Dr. Subas Malla
Dr. Subhankar Mandal
Dr. Songtao Jiu
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 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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae 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 2200 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

  • fungal disease
  • bacterial disease
  • viral disease
  • disease-resistant genes
  • genetics
  • breeding
  • biotic stress resilience

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 4258 KB  
Article
Genome-Wide Insights into the WRKY Transcription Factor Family and Transcriptional Regulation During Litchi Fruit Development
by Jiaxin Wu, Zheng Cao, Menghan Yang, Lejun Ouyang, Yongguo Zhao, Guangyuan Lu and Chao Shen
Horticulturae 2026, 12(2), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12020223 - 11 Feb 2026
Viewed by 672
Abstract
WRKY transcription factors serve as key regulators in plants, playing important roles in growth and development, secondary metabolism, and stress responses. Here, a comprehensive genome-wide analysis identified 58 WRKY genes (LcWRKYs) in litchi for the first time. All LcWRKY proteins were [...] Read more.
WRKY transcription factors serve as key regulators in plants, playing important roles in growth and development, secondary metabolism, and stress responses. Here, a comprehensive genome-wide analysis identified 58 WRKY genes (LcWRKYs) in litchi for the first time. All LcWRKY proteins were predicted to be hydrophilic and localized in the nucleus. Phylogenetic analysis classified them into three major groups (Groups I, II, and III), with a pronounced expansion of Group II, which contained 42 members divided into five subgroups. Members within the same phylogenetic clade exhibited highly similar exon–intron structures and conserved motif compositions, indicating strong evolutionary conservation. LcWRKYs were unevenly distributed across the litchi chromosomes, with chromosome 3 showing the highest gene density. Collinearity analysis suggested that both segmental and tandem duplications contributed to the evolutionary expansion of this family. Notably, promoter cis-acting element analysis revealed that LcWRKYs are enriched with light-responsive, hormone-responsive (e.g., ABA, MeJA, SA), and stress-responsive elements, suggesting their potential involvement in integrating light signaling, hormonal pathways, and environmental stress responses. Integrative expression analysis further revealed that multiple LcWRKYs were significantly up-regulated during the middle and late stages of fruit development in cultivars such as ‘Feizixiao’ and ‘Nuomici’. Consistent with these patterns, qRT-PCR validation demonstrated a pronounced induction of four representative genes (LITCHI004628.m1, LITCHI018082.m1, LITCHI021964.m1, and LITCHI030932.m1) at 40 days post-anthesis, followed by gene-specific expression trajectories at later stages, indicating their potential involvement in regulating fruit development, particularly during the mid-developmental stage. Altogether, the results of this study provide insight into the expansion and potential functional diversification of WRKY transcription factors in litchi and identify candidate regulators associated with fruit development, offering valuable targets for future functional studies and genetic improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Genetic Strategies for Enhancing Phytopathogen Tolerance in Horticultural Crops)
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