Deciphering Stress Resilience in Blueberry: Integrating Physiology, Key Genes, and Bioengineering

Dear Colleagues,

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), as a high-value health-promoting fruit, is attracting increasing global attention for its commercial cultivation. However, the industry faces significant constraints from various biotic stresses (e.g., fungal diseases, insect pests) and abiotic stresses (e.g., drought, salinity, high pH, low/high temperature, and intense light) during its expansion and yield intensification. These stresses severely limit yield stability, fruit quality, and the overall sustainability of blueberry production. Therefore, the in-depth exploration of the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying blueberry responses and adaptation to multiple stresses, coupled with the discovery of key regulatory genes and the innovation of novel stress-resilient germplasm through modern bioengineering, constitutes a critical research frontier.

Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing, multi-omics analyses, and gene-editing technologies have provided unprecedented opportunities to unravel the complex regulatory networks governing plant environmental resilience at a refined level. These tools enable a systematic elucidation of the physiological basis of stress tolerance in blueberry, the identification and functional validation of key genes involved in stress signaling, metabolic reprogramming, and morphological adaptations, and ultimately, the development of new, resilient, and high-quality cultivars via targeted molecular design.

This Special Issue of Plants aims to collect the latest research findings from around the globe, focusing on, but not limited to, the following themes:

1. Elucidation of Stress Physiology and Molecular Mechanisms: Investigating the physiological and biochemical responses, damage mechanisms, and adaptive strategies of blueberries under single or combined biotic/abiotic stresses; deciphering the complete molecular pathways from stress perception and signal transduction to downstream physiological effects (e.g., antioxidant systems, osmoregulation, photosynthesis adjustment, secondary metabolite accumulation).
2. Discovery and Functional Characterization of Key Genes and Regulatory Elements: Utilizing genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics approaches to identify key functional genes, transcription factors, non-coding RNAs, and promoter elements that regulate stress resistance traits (e.g., disease resistance, drought tolerance, cold hardiness, salt-alkali tolerance) in blueberries. Functional validation of these elements through genetic transformation, gene silencing, or editing technologies is encouraged.
3. Innovation in Bioengineering and Molecular Breeding Technologies: Reporting on the creation of novel blueberry germplasm using bioengineering tools like gene editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas systems) and genetic transformation based on key stress-tolerance genes; exploring the application and optimization of modern breeding strategies such as marker-assisted selection and genomic selection for improving stress resilience in blueberry breeding programs.

We cordially invite researchers worldwide specializing in plant stress physiology, molecular biology, genomics, and biotechnology-assisted breeding to contribute their original research articles or reviews to this Special Issue. We hope that the exchange of knowledge within this collection will advance the theoretical understanding of stress biology in blueberries and provide a solid scientific foundation and technical framework for developing a new generation of environmentally resilient and sustainable blueberry cultivars. We look forward to your valuable contributions.

Dr. Yibo Cao
Prof. Dr. Lingyun Zhang
Guest Editors

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• blueberry
• stress tolerance
• molecular mechanisms
• bioengineering
• germplasm
• key genes
• multi-omics
• CRISPR/cas
• biotic and abiotic stresses
• molecular breeding