Molecular Research for Cereal Breeding and Genetics

Dear Colleagues,

Cereal crops such as rice, wheat, maize, barley, oats, rye, and sorghum play a vital role in global agriculture, feeding more than half of the world's population. Improving cereal’s production and quality is critical for guaranteeing food security and tackling the challenges presented by population growth and climate change. Molecular biology has provided a powerful toolset to accelerate cereal breeding and genetics, providing a deeper understanding of the genetic background of key traits and facilitating the development of novel breeding strategies.

This Special Issue is dedicated to recent advances in molecular research in cereal breeding and genetics, covering a wide range of topics, including the following:

• The genetic dissection of complex traits: Using advanced genetic mapping, association studies, and next-generation sequencing technologies to unravel the genetic architecture of yield, quality, stress tolerance, and other important agronomic traits.
• Functional genomics and gene discovery: Using transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and gene-editing approaches to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying key biological processes in cereals.
• Development and application of novel breeding tools: To explore the potential of genomic selection, gene-editing, and precision breeding technologies to accelerate the improvement of cereal crops and to address specific breeding challenges.
• Comparative genomics and evolutionary insights: Using comparative genomics to identify conserved pathways and regulatory elements across cereals, providing insights into crop evolution and adaptation.
• Molecular breeding for sustainable agriculture: The development of cereal cultivars with increased tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, improved efficiency in the use of resources, and reduced impact on the environment.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that will contribute to the advancement of molecular research in cereal breeding and genetics. Authors are encouraged to contribute papers that demonstrate the power of molecular approaches to address the challenges of cereal improvement and global food security.

Dr. Maja Boczkowska
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.

• cereals
• climate changes
• novel breeding technology
• crop evolution
• speciec aclimatization
• species adaptation
• omics technologies
• quality
• sustainable agriculture
• germlasm