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Horticultural Crop Improvement: A New Era for Plant Molecular Research: Fourth Edition

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: 30 October 2025 | Viewed by 549

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Bo Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Interests: brassica vegetables; Chinese kale; mustard; carotenoids; glucosinolate; antioxidants; nutritional quality; postharvest
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Horticultural plants are intensively cultivated crops with high economic value, such as tree fruits, vegetables, ornamental plants, and tea crops. The wide taxonomic distribution and sophisticated domestication history of horticultural crops have led to their highly diverse and complex genomes, which has caused challenges regarding systematic studies of these plants.

Molecular biology reveals the molecular basis of biological processes in cells, and it is essential for understanding the mechanisms of the execution and regulation of biological processes. Molecular biology technologies have been applied to a wide range of living organisms. However, knowledge about horticultural crops is relatively less available compared to that of model plants. Recent advances in molecular biology—represented by revolutionary biotechnologies such as plant genome editing and next-generation sequencing—provide unprecedented opportunities to gain insights into less-well-studied horticultural crops.

For this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of original research articles, reviews, short notes, or opinion articles that highlight horticultural crop improvement applications in molecular biology, such as whole-genome resequencing, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and genome editing. Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, studies of regulatory mechanisms of plant growth and development, as well as efforts to improve crop yield, quality, and resistance to biotic/abiotic stresses.

Prof. Dr. Bo Sun
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

  • horticultural plants
  • whole-genome resequencing
  • transcriptomics
  • proteomics
  • metabolomics
  • gene editing
  • gene regulation
  • growth and development
  • yield
  • quality
  • resistance

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2054 KiB  
Article
Rootstock–Scion Exchanging mRNAs Participate in Watermelon Fruit Quality Improvement
by Kang Ning, Weixin Zhou, Xiaoqi Cai, Leiyan Yan, Yuanchang Ma, An Xie, Yuhong Wang and Pei Xu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(11), 5121; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26115121 - 27 May 2025
Viewed by 62
Abstract
Grafting significantly enhances plant quality, including stress resistance and fruit quality. We previously found that grafting watermelon onto pumpkin can alter the metabolite content, but the involvement of mobile RNA was unclear. Here, we established and comprehensively analyzed mobile mRNA (mb-mRNA) profiles, transcriptomes, [...] Read more.
Grafting significantly enhances plant quality, including stress resistance and fruit quality. We previously found that grafting watermelon onto pumpkin can alter the metabolite content, but the involvement of mobile RNA was unclear. Here, we established and comprehensively analyzed mobile mRNA (mb-mRNA) profiles, transcriptomes, and metabolomes between the rootstock (pumpkin) and scion (watermelon). A total of 834 mobile RNAs were identified in the pulp and stem of pumpkin-grafted watermelon. GO (Gene Ontology) and KO (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Orthology) analyses revealed photosynthesis- and carbon fixation-related mobile RNAs (e.g., Photosystem II D2, P700 chlorophyll a apoprotein) in the watermelon pulp and cell division-related mobile RNAs in the stem. Additionally, transcription factors like MADS and DNAJ exhibited mobility. The secondary structure prediction of the MADS-box transcription factor (CmoCh20G002790) showed multiple loop structures (e.g., internal and hairpin loops) related to its mobility. An integrated analysis of transcript and metabolite profiles indicated that photosynthesis-related products are regulated not only by the scion’s own RNA but also by mb-mRNA synthesized by the rootstock. This research advances our understanding of grafting’s molecular mechanisms and provides insights for improving crop quality and sustainability in agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Horticultural Crop Improvement: A New Era for Plant Molecular Research: Fourth Edition)
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22 pages, 6169 KiB  
Article
Transcriptome and Metabolome Analyses Offer New Insights into Bolting Time Regulation in Broccoli
by Linqian Kuang, Yue Zhang, Nan Zhang, Yangyong Zhang, Honghao Lv, Yong Wang, Mu Zhuang, Limei Yang, Ke Huang, Zhansheng Li and Jialei Ji
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(8), 3726; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26083726 - 15 Apr 2025
Viewed by 350
Abstract
The globular buds and stems are the main edible organs of broccoli. Bolting is an important agronomic trait, and the timing of its occurrence is particularly critical when breeding and domesticating broccoli. The molecular mechanism that regulates broccoli bolting time is not well-understood. [...] Read more.
The globular buds and stems are the main edible organs of broccoli. Bolting is an important agronomic trait, and the timing of its occurrence is particularly critical when breeding and domesticating broccoli. The molecular mechanism that regulates broccoli bolting time is not well-understood. In this study, the apical flower bud and leaf tissues of two broccoli varieties with different bolting intensities were selected for metabolome and transcriptome analyses. In the apical flower buds of early-bolting B2554 and late-bolting B2557, 1094 differentially expressed genes and 206 differentially accumulated metabolites were identified. In the leaves, 487 differentially expressed genes and 40 differentially accumulated metabolites were identified. In the floral pathway, the expression of FLC (FLOWERING LOCUS C) was significantly upregulated, and that of FT (FLOWERING LOCUS T) was significantly downregulated in the late-bolting plants, indicating their possible role in suppressing bolting. In addition, significant differences were identified in the sucrose synthesis and transport, hormone synthesis, and signal transduction processes in early-bolting B2554 and late-bolting B2557. Sucrose accumulation in the leaves and apical flower buds of the early-bolting plants was about 1.3 times higher than in the late-bolting plants. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation in the apical flower buds of the late-bolting plants was more than twice that in the early-bolting plants. Jasmonic acid (JA) accumulation in the apical flower buds of the late-bolting plants was more than ten times higher than in the early-bolting plants. Phenolic acids may affect the bolting time of broccoli. This study offers new insights into the regulation mechanism of broccoli bolting and provides some potential molecular targets to include in breeding methods that regulate bolting time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Horticultural Crop Improvement: A New Era for Plant Molecular Research: Fourth Edition)
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