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Life
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Advances in Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Breeding
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Advances in Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Breeding

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 4247

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Serik Eliby

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, University of Adelaide, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia
Interests: plant biotechnology and genetic engineering; development of genetically modified (gm) crops; crop improvement in economically important species (e.g., wheat, maize, barley, rice, millet, carrot, and tomato); tissue culture techniques (microspore, protoplast, and cell culture); production of doubled haploids in wheat
Dr. Nikolai Borisjuk

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
Interests: plant biotechnology; molecular biology; wheat; plant stress tolerance; genomics; genome evolution; genome editing
Dr. Yuri Shavrukov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Science and Engineering (Biological Sciences), Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
Interests: plant genetics and genomics; molecular markers; plant genotyping; abiotic stress tolerance; drought, salinity, and dehydration; gene identification and expression analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce a Special Issue in Life, focusing on the latest developments and innovations in plant biotechnology and molecular breeding. The rapid progress in the field provides powerful tools to address pressing global challenges such as food security, climate change, and sustainable agriculture. As modern agriculture faces complex biotic and abiotic stresses, the integration of advanced biotechnological tools with molecular breeding strategies is becoming increasingly important for accelerating crop improvement and ensuring global food security.

This Issue invites cutting-edge research and reviews focusing on high-resolution genotyping, functional marker development, and marker-assisted selection for trait introgression. Contributions addressing genetic engineering and genome editing platforms—including CRISPR-Cas systems—for precise manipulation of plant genomes are particularly encouraged. The Issue will also explore the production and application of doubled haploids for rapid generation of homozygous lines as well as advances in genomic selection and multi-omics approaches for dissecting complex traits.

This Special Issue's scope encompasses fundamental discoveries and applied research that translates into practical solutions for crop improvement and environmental sustainability. We are particularly interested in manuscripts that showcase novel methodologies, provide deeper insights into plant biological processes, or demonstrate the successful application of biotechnological tools to enhance crop productivity, resilience, and nutritional value.

Prospective authors are encouraged to submit a short abstract and a tentative title to the Editorial Office. For detailed submission guidelines, please visit the journal’s webpage. We look forward to your valuable contributions.

Dr. Serik Eliby
Dr. Nikolai Borisjuk
Dr. Yuri Shavrukov
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-blind 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

  • doubled haploidy
  • genetic engineering
  • genome editing
  • genomics
  • marker-assisted selection
  • molecular breeding
  • molecular markers
  • plant biotechnology

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

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 1798 KB  
Article
Genetic Diversity of Prolamin Loci Related to Grain Quality in Durum Wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) in Kazakhstan
by Maral Utebayev, Svetlana Dashkevich, Oksana Kradetskaya, Irina Chilimova, Ruslan Zhylkybaev, Tatyana Zhigula, Tatyana Shelayeva, Gulmira Khassanova, Kulpash Bulatova, Vladimir Tsygankov, Marat Amangeldin and Yuri Shavrukov
Life 2026, 16(1), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/life16010157 - 17 Jan 2026
Viewed by 657
Abstract
The technological properties of durum wheat grain are determined by prolamins (gliadins and glutenins). Information on the allelic composition of key loci remains incomplete despite existing global studies examining prolamin variability. This highlighted the need to study these traits in durum wheat in [...] Read more.
The technological properties of durum wheat grain are determined by prolamins (gliadins and glutenins). Information on the allelic composition of key loci remains incomplete despite existing global studies examining prolamin variability. This highlighted the need to study these traits in durum wheat in Kazakhstan. The effects of specific gliadin components with high- and low-molecular-weight glutenin fractions on gluten quality are also not fully clarified. This study aimed to characterise allelic diversity at prolamin-coding loci and evaluate associated grain quality traits. Using native and denaturing SDS-electrophoresis, 181 tetraploid wheat accessions from Kazakhstan, an International germplasm collection, and 26 breeding lines were analysed for allelic variation and associations with protein content, gluten content, gluten index, and SDS-sedimentation. The γ45 gliadin component and Glu-A3a allele were positively associated with SDS-sedimentation and gluten index, while Glu-B3b had a negative effect. Distinct prolamin profiles were observed among accessions from different ecological and geographical locations. These results support the selection of superior durum wheat genotypes and enable the identification of favourable allele combinations at the Gli-1, Gli-2, Glu-1, and Glu-3 loci in cultivars from Kazakhstan. Comparison with global tetraploid wheat germplasm collections demonstrates unique genetic diversity in genotypes, providing a valuable basis for breeding programs aimed at improving grain and gluten quality in durum wheat in Kazakhstan and Central Asian countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Breeding)
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18 pages, 3731 KB  
Article
Induction of Mutations in Veronica Species by Colchicine Treatment
by Hye-Wan Park, Samantha Serafin Sevilleno, Ji-Hun Yi, Wonwoo Cho, Young-Jae Kim and Yoon-Jung Hwang
Life 2025, 15(9), 1367; https://doi.org/10.3390/life15091367 - 28 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1842
Abstract
Veronica nakaiana Ohwi and Veronica pusanensis Y.N.Lee are rare and endemic plants native to Korea, with increasing interest in their cultivation and breeding for industrial applications. Mutation breeding is important for developing horticultural cultivars. Among mutation breeding techniques, chemical mutagenesis is particularly accessible [...] Read more.
Veronica nakaiana Ohwi and Veronica pusanensis Y.N.Lee are rare and endemic plants native to Korea, with increasing interest in their cultivation and breeding for industrial applications. Mutation breeding is important for developing horticultural cultivars. Among mutation breeding techniques, chemical mutagenesis is particularly accessible and effective. Colchicine-induced mutagenesis was performed in vivo at various concentrations (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and 1.0%) and treatment durations (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 h). Both V. nakaiana Ohwi and V. pusanensis Y.N.Lee showed the highest survival (23.4% and 34.8%, respectively) and mutation (1.6% and 0.5%, respectively) rates with 0.2% colchicine. Flow cytometry and chromosome number analyses revealed mutants as tetraploid, with chromosome numbers ranging from 2n = 66 to 2n = 68. Stomatal analysis indicated increased stomatal length and width and decreased stomatal density. Morphological analysis of the mutants revealed that the leaves of V. nakaiana Ohwi and V. pusanensis Y.N.Lee were significantly larger and had different shapes compared to the control. This study successfully generated new mutant plants of two Veronica species using chemical mutagen treatment, which could be utilized as new genetic resources for various Veronica species breeding programs in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Breeding)
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Review

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26 pages, 2197 KB  
Review
Next-Generation Genotyping: Innovations Driving Plant Genomic Improvement
by Valeriya Kostyukova, Roza Kenzhebekova, Egor Protsenko, Bakyt Dulat, Marina Khusnitdinova and Dilyara Gritsenko
Life 2026, 16(3), 521; https://doi.org/10.3390/life16030521 - 21 Mar 2026
Viewed by 990
Abstract
In recent years, plant genotyping has been shifting from the accumulation of whole-genome data toward their effective use in breeding programs This review examines key genotyping platforms, including single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, reduced-representation sequencing methods such as genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) and restriction site-associated DNA [...] Read more.
In recent years, plant genotyping has been shifting from the accumulation of whole-genome data toward their effective use in breeding programs This review examines key genotyping platforms, including single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, reduced-representation sequencing methods such as genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) and restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq), targeted genotyping approaches, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS), analyzing their informativeness, cost, and computational limitations. The transition to pangenome-based genotyping and graph genomes is discussed, as these approaches reduce reference bias and increase sensitivity for detecting structural variants, introgressions, and rare alleles that are important for adaptation and breeding. The growing role of AI/ML is highlighted in modeling complex genotype–phenotype relationships, integrating genomic and phenotypic data, and improving the accuracy and interpretability of genomic predictions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Breeding)
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