Plant-Microbiome Interactions for Enhancing Crop Growth and Resilience
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 106
Special Issue Editors
Interests: rhizosphere microbiome; fungal endophyte–grass symbiosis; plant growth-promotion
Interests: genetic breeding; tropical crop–microbe interactions; biological control
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plants establish specific interactions with microorganisms that are vital for promoting growth and resilience. These associations form the basis for soil and plant health management, ultimately contributing to superior crop yields. Recently, leveraging the plant microbiome thus represents a promising strategy for developing sustainable agricultural practices that address both food security and environmental challenges. Despite their importance, a mechanistic understanding of these plant–microbiome interactions remains limited. Critical questions persist regarding how host genetics, environmental factors, and chemical signalling collectively shape microbiome functions. Elucidating this crosstalk is key to understanding how microbial communities are structured to support crop growth and adaptation. This Special Issue aims to address these gaps by highlighting research that advances both fundamental knowledge and practical applications.
We invite the submission of original research and review articles focusing on mechanistic insights into plant–microbe interactions, including host-associated microbiomes, molecular signalling pathways, synthetic microbial consortia, and functional traits that enhance crop growth and resilience. Studies employing omics technologies (e.g., metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics), biotechnological tools, or field-based strategies for sustainable agriculture are particularly encouraged.
Dr. Kai Luo
Prof. Dr. Yinhua Chen
Dr. Shugao Fan
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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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
- plant-associated microbiome
- beneficial microorganisms
- plant–microbe interactions
- plant–microbial symbiosis
- microbial diversity
- microbiome assembly
- SynComs
- crop resilience
- molecular signaling
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