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Molecular Research on Crop Quality
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Molecular Research on Crop Quality

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: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 1920

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Jinsong Bao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agricultural and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: crop quality; cereal chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the continuous growth of the global population and the ongoing transformation of consumption patterns, crop quality not only directly impacts human nutritional intake and health standards but also serves as a key indicator of improved living standards. Enhancing crop quality contributes to addressing nutritional deficiencies such as "hidden hunger" by optimizing the content of functional components like proteins, vitamins, and minerals, thereby better meeting the increasing health demands of the population. Moreover, high-quality crop varieties offer greater market value-added potential, effectively increasing farmers’ income while promoting the development of agribusiness and value chain upgrading.

Currently, research on crop quality still faces several prominent challenges: (1) A trade-off between yield and quality exists for many crops, where high-yield breeding often compromises quality. Achieving coordinated improvement in both traits remains a major challenge. (2) Quality traits are generally governed by polygenes and are highly affected by environmental factors. The genetic mechanisms and regulatory networks underlying these traits are not yet fully elucidated. (3) A significant gap persists between breeding efforts and the demands of processing and consumption. The development of specialized and functional varieties often lags behind market needs. (4) High-quality germplasm resources remain relatively scarce, and the application costs of molecular breeding technologies remain high, hindering the large-scale advancement of quality breeding. (5) Global climate change increasingly threatens both crop production and quality, underscoring the urgent need to develop stress-tolerant, resource-efficient, and high-quality varieties to ensure sustainable agricultural development.

To address these challenges, future efforts should emphasize the integration of multi-omics technologies such as genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics, to elucidate the mechanisms underlying quality trait formation. Modern biotechnological tools, including genome-wide selection and gene editing, should be utilized to achieve precise improvement of target traits. Furthermore, targeted breeding of specialized varieties designed for specific processing applications (e.g., malting barley, high-amylose maize, and specialty wheat) and enhanced nutritional and health functions (e.g., low-glycemic-index rice and wheat) should be actively promoted. To date, crop research is evolving from a single focus on yield towards a more integrated paradigm that emphasizes the balance of “yield, quality, profitability, and environmental sustainability”. Future advancements will require deeper interdisciplinary collaboration, technological innovation, and integration across the industry chain to develop more nutritious, resource-efficient, and environmentally friendly crop varieties. These efforts will support both the sustainable development of agriculture and the promotion of healthier human livelihoods.

This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts focusing on molecular-level research related to crop quality traits. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the identification of quality-related genes, analysis of metabolic pathways, and innovations in molecular breeding technologies, all aimed at providing theoretical foundations and technical support for crop quality improvement.

Prof. Dr. Jinsong Bao
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 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. 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

  • crop quality
  • molecular breeding
  • multi-omics
  • gene editing
  • precision agriculture
  • functional genomics
  • rice
  • wheat
  • maize
  • barley
  • sorghum
  • millet
  • potato
  • cotton
  • molecular markers
  • genome-wide association studies
  • genome editing
  • genome selection
  • molecular selection
  • transcriptomics
  • omics
  • post-translational regulation
  • starch
  • protein
  • lipids
  • vitamin
  • processing quality
  • eating quality

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 1994 KB  
Article
Effect of Allelic Variations in Wx and SSIIa on Rice Cooking and Eating Quality
by Yi Peng, Yuqianqian Li, Lin Zhang, Jing Yu, Jianming Pan, Bowen Deng and Jinsong Bao
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(6), 2588; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27062588 - 11 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 436
Abstract
The cooking and eating quality (CEQ) of rice is primarily regulated by the Wx and SSIIa genes. Multiple allelic variations in these genes exist in rice, but the effect of allelic combination of Wx and SSIIa on rice CEQ was less understood. In [...] Read more.
The cooking and eating quality (CEQ) of rice is primarily regulated by the Wx and SSIIa genes. Multiple allelic variations in these genes exist in rice, but the effect of allelic combination of Wx and SSIIa on rice CEQ was less understood. In this study, the Wx and SSIIa genes of 164 rice accessions were sequenced, and the effects of nucleotide variation, both individually and in combination, on physicochemical properties such as apparent amylose content (AAC), gelatinization temperature (GT), pasting viscosities and gel texture were analyzed. Six Wx alleles were identified, with the highest AAC found in the Wxlv allele and the lowest in the wx allele. No significant difference in AAC for the same genotype harvested from two locations, Hangzhou and Sanya, was observed. Three SSIIa alleles were identified, i.e., G/GC, G/TT, and A/GC. The genotype with the G/GC exhibited significantly higher GT than those with G/TT and A/GC genotypes. However, the GT of the same genotype was higher in Hangzhou than in Sanya, suggesting an environmental effect. Under the same Wxlv allele background, the gel hardness (HD) of G/TT allele of SSIIa was the highest among all combinations, and significantly higher than that of G/GC. Under the same wx allele background, the peak viscosity (PV), hot paste viscosity (HPV), and cold paste viscosity (CPV) of G/GC were significantly higher than that of G/TT and A/GC. Under the same G/GC allele of SSIIa background, Wxlv had a slightly lower peak temperature (Tp) and a slightly higher enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔHg) than other allele combinations. Under the same G/TT allele of SSIIa background, Wxb had a significantly lower onset temperature (To), Tp and conclusion temperature (Tc) than other combinations. This study indicated that variation in the Wx gene primarily affects AAC, viscosity and gel texture, with its interaction with SSIIa influencing GT, while variation in the SSIIa gene primarily affects GT, with its interaction with Wx influencing pasting viscosity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Research on Crop Quality)
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13 pages, 1468 KB  
Article
Genome-Wide Association Analysis and Candidate Gene Prediction of Wheat Wet Gluten Content
by Congcong Liu, Lei Zeng, Cong Wang, Linlin Jia, Wenxu Li, Ziju Dai, Maomao Qin, Jinna Hou, Zhensheng Lei and Zhengfu Zhou
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(2), 827; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27020827 - 14 Jan 2026
Viewed by 501
Abstract
The wet gluten content (WGC) of wheat is a key indicator of wheat-processing quality, and its genetic basis is extremely critical in breeding. This study evaluated the WGC of 207 wheat accessions under three growing seasons from a natural population. Nine quantitative trait [...] Read more.
The wet gluten content (WGC) of wheat is a key indicator of wheat-processing quality, and its genetic basis is extremely critical in breeding. This study evaluated the WGC of 207 wheat accessions under three growing seasons from a natural population. Nine quantitative trait loci (QTLs) explained 7.61–15.18% of phenotypic variation in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a 660K SNP array. Among them, qWGC6B.2 on chromosome 6BL was consistently detected across multiple environments, accounting for 10.08–12.27% of variation. Incorporating grain transcriptome data led to the identification of TaWGC6B.1 (TraesCS6B02G386700), which is highly expressed in developing endosperm and strongly correlated with WGC. A competitive allele specific PCR (KASP) marker development and validation indicated that the Whaas68366_GG allele significantly enhanced gene expression and WGC. This study identified key genes and molecular markers, providing theoretical and technical support for WGC genetic improvement in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Research on Crop Quality)
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Review

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14 pages, 1206 KB  
Review
Determinants of Rice Grain Quality: Synergistic Roles of Genetics, Environment, and Agronomic Practices
by Liqun Tang, Honghuan Fan, Junmin Wang, Kaizhen Zhong, Hong Tan, Fuquan Ding, Ling Wang, Jian Song and Mingli Han
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(7), 3088; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27073088 - 28 Mar 2026
Viewed by 657
Abstract
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain quality is a critical determinant of market value, consumer acceptance, and nutritional security. This multifaceted trait is governed by the dynamic interaction of genotype (G), environment (E), and management practices (M). In this review, we synthesize recent [...] Read more.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain quality is a critical determinant of market value, consumer acceptance, and nutritional security. This multifaceted trait is governed by the dynamic interaction of genotype (G), environment (E), and management practices (M). In this review, we synthesize recent advances in understanding these multifaceted determinants. We first delineate the genetic architecture, emphasizing key genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) such as Wx, ALK, Chalk5, and the GS3/GW families, which control starch composition, gelatinization temperature, chalkiness, and grain dimensions, forming the foundational blueprint for quality potential. We examine how this genetic potential is influenced by environmental factors, focusing on the detrimental impacts of abiotic stresses, particularly high temperatures during grain filling and drought, which impair milling yield, increase chalkiness, and modify starch and protein profiles. Furthermore, we discuss how optimized agronomic strategies—including precision water management (e.g., alternate wetting and drying), balanced nitrogen fertilization, and targeted micronutrient (e.g., silicon) application—can mitigate these adverse effects and potentially improve specific quality parameters. Post-harvest handling is identified as the final determinant of product quality. We conclude that achieving high and stable rice quality under climate variability requires an integrated G × E × M approach. Prospects include next-generation breeding for climate-resilient quality, precision agronomy guided by real-time sensing, synergistic soil health management, and the integration of systems biology with digital agriculture to design sustainable, high-quality rice production systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Research on Crop Quality)
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