Advances in Postharvest Molecular Biology of Fruits and Vegetables
A Special Issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729) belonging to the section "Plant Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 368
Editors
Interests: postharvest technology; postharvest quality deterioration; molecular mechanisms
Interests: postharvest biology; postharvest technology; fruit and vegetable storage; postharvest storage; quality control
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Postharvest loss of fruits and vegetables represents a significant challenge to global food security and agricultural sustainability, with estimates indicating that up to one-third of all fresh produce is lost before reaching consumers. These losses are primarily driven by rapid senescence, pathogen infection, and physiological disorders. In recent years, the elucidation of molecular mechanisms governing fruit ripening, quality maintenance, and stress responses has opened new avenues for extending shelf life and reducing waste. Understanding these complex biological networks is therefore of paramount scientific and economic importance.
This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in the molecular biology of fruit and vegetable postharvest research, with a focus on studies that connect fundamental mechanisms to practical applications. We invite submissions that fit within the journal’s scope by offering mechanistic insights into postharvest physiology and showing relevance to improving storage life, nutritional quality, or stress tolerance. Topics of interest include molecular studies on ethylene biosynthesis and signaling, cell wall metabolism, transcriptional regulation, epigenetic changes, hormonal interactions, and abiotic stress responses during postharvest handling and storage.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: mechanisms of ripening and senescence; genetic and epigenetic control of quality traits; molecular responses to storage conditions; the use of genome editing for postharvest improvement; multi-omics approaches to understanding postharvest biology; and new molecular strategies for preserving nutritional quality.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Ye Han
Dr. Ruirui Yang
Guest Editors
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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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
- postharvest biology
- fruit ripening
- senescence
- molecular biology
- quality maintenance
- molecular regulation
- stress tolerance
- horticultural crops
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