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Plant Tolerance to Stress

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2025 | Viewed by 817

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Guest Editor
College of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Interests: plant abiotic stress; secondary metabolism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

Plants are increasingly threatened by climate change, heavy metal pollution, soil salinization, and the spread of pests and diseases. Increasing tolerance of crop plants to stresses is needed to fulfill increased food needs of the population. The application of various phytoprotectants has become one of the most effective approaches in enhancing the tolerance of plants to these stresses.

This Special Issue will explore the genetic and molecular mechanisms of plant stress tolerance traits, aiming to identify innovative breeding strategies that can enhance their resilience to environmental stresses. We also welcome original research articles and reviews in this field.

Dr. Li Xingguo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • plant
  • genetic breeding
  • biotic stress
  • abiotic stress
  • gene regulation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 2905 KB  
Article
Genome-Wide Analysis and Expression Profiles of Auxin Response Factors in Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)
by Yuanyuan Tong, Sujuan Xu, Jiayu Shi, Yi He, Hong-Lei Li, Tian Yu, Sinian Zhang and Hai-Tao Xing
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(17), 8412; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26178412 - 29 Aug 2025
Abstract
Ginger, an economically important crop, fulfills multifunctional roles as a spice, vegetable, and raw material for medicinal and chemical products. The family of Auxin Response Factors (ARFs) plays an essential role in facilitating auxin signal transduction and regulating plant growth and development. However, [...] Read more.
Ginger, an economically important crop, fulfills multifunctional roles as a spice, vegetable, and raw material for medicinal and chemical products. The family of Auxin Response Factors (ARFs) plays an essential role in facilitating auxin signal transduction and regulating plant growth and development. However, the role of ARF genes in ginger, a crop of considerable economic importance, remains elucidated. In this study, a total of 26 ZoARF genes were identified in the ginger genome, which were further categorized into four subfamilies (I–IV) and displayed a non-uniform distribution across 11 chromosomes. The proteins are predominantly localized to the nucleus. Promoter regions contained numerous cis-elements linked to light signaling, phytohormones, growth, development, and stress responses. Collinearity analysis revealed 9 pairs of fragment duplication events in ZoARFs, all uniformly distributed across their related chromosomes. In addition, the expression profiles of ZoARFs in ginger were analyzed during development and under several stress conditions like ABA, cold, drought, heat, and salt, employing RNA-seq data and qRT-PCR analysis. Notably, expression profiling revealed tissue-specific functions, with ZoARF#04/05/12/22 associated with flower development and ZoARF#06/13/14/23 implicated in root growth. This work provides an in-depth insight into the ARF family and establishes a foundation for future investigations of ZoARF gene functions in ginger growth, development, and abiotic stress tolerance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Tolerance to Stress)
19 pages, 7231 KB  
Article
Genomic Features and Predicted 3D Structures of the CcWOX Transcription Factors in Cinnamomum camphora
by Fengshuo Cui, Kang Wang, Haoran Qi, Tengfei Shen, Caihui Chen, Yongda Zhong and Meng Xu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(17), 8204; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26178204 - 23 Aug 2025
Viewed by 396
Abstract
The WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) gene family is integral to plant growth and development. Here, we identified 14 CcWOX genes from the Cinnamomum camphora genome and analyzed their phylogeny, conserved features, and expression patterns. Phylogenetic inference grouped CcWOX into the Ancient, Intermediate, and WUS [...] Read more.
The WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) gene family is integral to plant growth and development. Here, we identified 14 CcWOX genes from the Cinnamomum camphora genome and analyzed their phylogeny, conserved features, and expression patterns. Phylogenetic inference grouped CcWOX into the Ancient, Intermediate, and WUS clades, consistent with other plant lineages. Expression profiling across seven tissues/organs, together with qRT-PCR validation, revealed tissue-biased expression for several members (e.g., floral or root enrichment), suggesting gene-specific roles during development. Using AlphaFold3, we predicted monomeric structures for CcWOX proteins and an interface model compatible with an interaction between CcWOX3 and CcLBD33. Consistently, bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) in Nicotiana benthamiana detected nuclear YFP signals for cEYFP-CcWOX3 + nEYFP-CcLBD33 relative to appropriate negative controls, confirming a physical interaction in plant cells. While these findings support a putative WOX–LBD interaction module in C. camphora, the regulatory functions remain to be established. Overall, this work provides a framework for dissecting the CcWOX family in C. camphora and illustrates how AI-assisted structure prediction can be integrated with cell-based assays to accelerate hypothesis generation in plant developmental biology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Tolerance to Stress)
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