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Integrating Molecular Insights on Plant Microbes and Insect Pests
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Integrating Molecular Insights on Plant Microbes and Insect Pests

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 December 2025 | Viewed by 1527

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Xifeng Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: virus diseases; cereal crops; control; transmission; epidemics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants are constantly exposed to various pathogenic microbes which can result in diseases and insect pests that can affect their growth, development, and productivity. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of the occurrence, epidemiology, and control of plant disease-associated microbes and insect pests is crucial for developing resilient crop varieties and sustainable control practices.

This Special Issue, entitled “Integrating Molecular Insights on Plant Microbes and Insect Pests”, seeks to explore the dynamic interactions between plants and various pathogenic microbes as well as insect pests at the molecular level. We encourage submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following areas:

  • Molecular and genetic basis of plant resistance and plant disease-associated microbes and insect pests.
  • Signaling pathways and regulatory networks involved in plant responses to microbe and insect attack.
  • Role of epigenetics in plant adaptation to plant disease-associated microbes and insect pests.
  • Advances in ‘omics’ technologies (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc.) to dissect interactions between plants, microbes, and insect pests.
  • Development of innovative strategies for disease management in plants.
  • Impact of climate change on plant disease epidemiology.
  • Interdisciplinary approaches combining molecular biology, bioinformatics, and plant physiology to tackle plant diseases and insect pests.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and short communications that provide novel insights into the molecular science of the occurrence, epidemiology, and control of plant disease-associated microbes and insect pests. In addition to basic research at the molecular levels, research focused on future applied research and technology, including agrochemicals and genetical modifications, will also be considered.

Prof. Dr. Xifeng Wang
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 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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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

  • pathogenic microbes
  • resistance mechanisms
  • signaling pathways
  • omics technologies
  • plant and insect interactions

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 5462 KiB  
Article
Molecular Characterization and Pathogenicity of Watermelon Isolates of Begomovirus cucurbitachinaense
by Liming Liu, Yanhui Wang, Yanfei Geng, Bo Yu, Leiyan Yan, Fangmin Hao, Huijie Wu, Pingyong Wang, Qinsheng Gu and Baoshan Kang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(9), 4289; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26094289 - 1 May 2025
Viewed by 175
Abstract
Squash leaf curl China virus (SLCCNV) belongs to the species Begomovirus cucurbitachinaense in the genus Begomovirus and can infect some Cucurbitaceae crops except for watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). In this study, watermelon plants showing symptoms typical to begomovirus infection in field were [...] Read more.
Squash leaf curl China virus (SLCCNV) belongs to the species Begomovirus cucurbitachinaense in the genus Begomovirus and can infect some Cucurbitaceae crops except for watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). In this study, watermelon plants showing symptoms typical to begomovirus infection in field were observed in Zhejiang Province of China, and SLCCNV presence was identified through PCR and next-generation sequencing (NGS). The pairwise sequence identity of the DNA-A genome shows that SLCCNV watermelon isolate belongs to the SLCCNV/CN strain and shares 96% nucleotide identity with the previously sequenced SLCCNV/CN. An infectious clone of SLCCNV watermelon isolate was constructed using the tandem repeat fragment method. Through agrobacterium-mediated inoculation, the clone could induce systemic infection with typical symptoms in watermelon, melon (Cucumis melo), squash (Cucurbita pepo), pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima), wax gourd (Benicasa hispida), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), and N. benthamiana. It was further demonstrated that the progeny virions derived from the cloned watermelon isolate could be transmitted by whitefly rather than the sap. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a natural infection of SLCCNV on watermelon in China, and the first complete report on the molecular characteristics and pathogenicity of watermelon-infecting SLCCNV in the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Molecular Insights on Plant Microbes and Insect Pests)
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20 pages, 4425 KiB  
Article
Integrated Transcriptome and Metabolome Analysis Reveals the Resistance Mechanisms of Brassica napus Against Xanthomonas campestris
by Cong Zhou, Li Xu, Rong Zuo, Zetao Bai, Tongyu Fu, Lingyi Zeng, Li Qin, Xiong Zhang, Cuicui Shen, Fan Liu, Feng Gao, Meili Xie, Chaobo Tong, Li Ren, Junyan Huang, Lijiang Liu and Shengyi Liu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(1), 367; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26010367 - 3 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1068
Abstract
Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important crop for healthy edible oil and stockfeed worldwide. However, its growth and yield are severely hampered by black rot, a destructive disease caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc). Despite the identification of [...] Read more.
Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important crop for healthy edible oil and stockfeed worldwide. However, its growth and yield are severely hampered by black rot, a destructive disease caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc). Despite the identification of several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with resistance to black rot in Brassica crops, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated Xcc-induced transcriptomic and metabolic changes in the leaves of two rapeseed varieties: Westar (susceptible) and ZS5 (resistant). Our findings indicated that Xcc infection elicited more pronounced overall transcriptomic and metabolic changes in Westar compared to ZS5. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, cutin, suberine and wax biosynthesis, tryptophan metabolism, and phenylalanine metabolism were enriched in both varieties. Notably, photosynthesis was down-regulated in Westar after infection, whereas this down-regulation occurred at a later stage in ZS5. Integrated analyses of transcriptome and metabolome revealed that the tryptophan metabolism pathway was enriched in both varieties. Indolic glucosinolates and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) are two metabolites derived from tryptophan. The expression of genes involved in the indolic glucosinolate pathway and the levels of indolic glucosinolates were significantly elevated in both varieties post-infection. Additionally, exogenous application of IAA promoted the development of black rot, whereas the use of an IAA synthesis inhibitor attenuated black rot development in both resistant and susceptible rapeseed varieties. These findings provide valuable molecular insights into the interactions between rapeseed and Xcc, facilitating the advancement of black rot resistance breeding in Brassica crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Molecular Insights on Plant Microbes and Insect Pests)
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