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Molecular and Physiological Analysis of Stress in Plants
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Molecular and Physiological Analysis of Stress in Plants

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 655

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Yong Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Life Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
Interests: plant functional genomics; bioinformatics; plant stress; epigenetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce our upcoming Special Issue on the “Molecular and Physiological Analysis of Stress in Plants”. Stress, including biotic stress and abiotic stress, is the main threat to plant growth and crop yield. Because of the changing climate, studies on the molecular and physiological mechanisms of stress play an increasingly important role in enhancing plant resilience and productivity. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a comprehensive review of the molecular mechanisms and physiological response of plants under various stresses.

We welcome original research, review articles, short communications, perspectives, and opinions and encourage authors to submit papers addressing the molecular mechanisms and physiological response of plants under various stresses, such as pathogen infection, drought stress, flood stress, salinity stress, high temperature or chilling, hypoxia, heavy metals, and other stresses. This Special Issue will cover a broad range of topics including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Functional genes under stress
  • The molecular mechanism of stress tolerance
  • Physiological response to stress
  • Plant–pathogen interaction
  • Omics data analysis of stress
  • Epigenetic stress memory

Authors can submit their manuscripts using our online submission system. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to receiving your contributions to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Yong Li
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

  • plant stress
  • biotic stress
  • abiotic stress
  • stress response
  • gene expression
  • epigenetic stress memory
  • ABA
  • SA

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 5187 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Analysis of the MsRCI2 Gene Family in Medicago sativa and Functional Characterization of MsRCI2B in Salt Tolerance
by Huiru Qiao, Depeng Zhang, Zizhao Zhang, Jing Meng, Pin He, Shichao Zhang, Yan Wang, Hua Cai and Yong Li
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(9), 4165; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26094165 - 27 Apr 2025
Viewed by 281
Abstract
The Rare Cold-Inducible 2 (RCI2) gene encodes a conserved hydrophobic peptide that plays a crucial role in ion homeostasis, membrane stability, and responses to abiotic stress. In this study, six members of the MsRCI2 gene family were identified in Medicago sativa [...] Read more.
The Rare Cold-Inducible 2 (RCI2) gene encodes a conserved hydrophobic peptide that plays a crucial role in ion homeostasis, membrane stability, and responses to abiotic stress. In this study, six members of the MsRCI2 gene family were identified in Medicago sativa L., all of which contain highly conserved PMP3 domains. Comparative collinearity analysis revealed syntenic relationships between M. sativa and M. truncatula, with each gene displaying distinct expression profiles under various stress conditions. Among them, MsRCI2B was significantly upregulated in response to salt stress. Alfalfa plants overexpressing MsRCI2B exhibited enhanced salt tolerance, as evidenced by increased antioxidant enzyme activities and reduced accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and superoxide anion (O2−) compared to wild-type plants. Furthermore, the transgenic lines maintained better Na⁺/K⁺ homeostasis under salt stress, reflected by a lower Na⁺/K⁺ ratio and significantly elevated expression of key ion transport genes, including MsSOS1, MsAKT1, and MsNHX1. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying MsRCI2B function, a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screen identified 151 potential interacting proteins. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that these interactors are mainly involved in antioxidant defense and ion transport. Further validation confirmed direct interactions between MsRCI2B and both calmodulin (CaM) and vacuola H⁺-ATPase (V-H⁺-ATPase), suggesting that MsRCI2B contributes to ion homeostasis through interactions with CaM and V-H⁺-ATPase, thereby promoting Na⁺/K⁺ balance and enhancing salt tolerance. These findings provide new insights into the role of MsRCI2B in salt stress responses and underscore its potential as a genetic target for enhancing salinity tolerance in forage crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular and Physiological Analysis of Stress in Plants)
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