Molecular Adaptation Mechanisms of Plants to Environmental Stress
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 May 2026 | Viewed by 1192
Special Issue Editor
Interests: plant ecophysiology; photosynthesis; biotic stress; abiotic stress; antioxidative mechanisms; photoprotective mechanisms; reactive oxygen species
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Global climate change increases the frequency and intensity of weather conditions, thereby accelerating the adverse effects of environmental stress on plants. Plants can adapt to these environmental stresses, such as drought, high temperatures, high salinity, and heavy metal pollution, by undergoing molecular, cellular, and physiological changes. These changes include gene regulation, protein synthesis, and alterations in metabolism and structure. Examples include activating stress response genes, producing protective proteins, and altering membrane composition. Plants use molecular mechanisms such as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) to dissipate excess light energy as heat; reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging to eliminate harmful ROS; photoprotective protein synthesis; and reorganization of thylakoids and protein complexes to safeguard photosynthetic machinery from damage caused by environmental stresses. Consequently, plants display a range of responses to tolerate and survive the adverse environmental conditions, adapting to biotic or abiotic stresses by using stress-sensing mechanisms and triggering signal transduction pathways, involving transcription factors and phytohormones, to activate stress-responsive genes. These adaptive responses to different stresses are interconnected via multiple stress perception and signaling pathways that exhibit crosstalk at various steps. Thus, improving our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of the plant responses to the adaptation to environmental stresses could lead to the development of plants that are better adapted to different environmental stresses. This would, in turn, increase crop productivity and improve food security in the face of climate change.
Prof. Dr. Michael Moustakas
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
- signal perception
- signal transduction
- post-translational modifications
- stress response genes
- reactive oxygen species
- osmoprotectant
- antioxidants
- plant hormones
- stress-related proteins
- climate change
- biotic stress
- abiotic stress
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
