Exploring and Applying Genes for Plant Breeding and Crop Improvement
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2026 | Viewed by 58
Special Issue Editor
Interests: plant genetics; molecular marker development; molecular breeding; phenotyping
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Global food security is under unprecedented pressure, with the population projected to reach 9.1 billion by 2050, requiring a 70% increase in food production amid rising challenges from climate change, pests, and resource depletion. To meet this demand, traditional crop improvement strategies must adopt advanced genetic technologies to rapidly develop resilient, high-yield varieties.
Recent advancements in genome sequencing, CRISPR-based editing, and pan-genome analyses have transformed the discovery of agronomically vital traits, even in crops with complex genomes. Innovations in multi-omics, machine learning, and high-throughput phenotyping now enable the precise identification of key traits such as disease resistance, environmental stress tolerance, and nutritional quality. Equally crucial is harnessing underutilized genetic resources, wild relatives, and orphan crops to unlock novel traits for biotic/abiotic stress tolerance and adaptability.
This Special Issue aims to enhance our understanding of plant genes and their role in sustainable agriculture. We invite foundational and applied research with the aim of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in order to advance next-generation crop breeding. We welcome original studies, reviews, and perspectives addressing these urgent topics.
Prof. Dr. Tae-Hwan Jun
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. 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 breeding
- genome sequencing
- gene exploration
- crop improvement
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