Evolution and Genetics of Plant–Microbe Interactions
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 722
Special Issue Editors
Interests: genetic determinants involved in plant–microorganism interactions for the improvement of agricultural production; plant candidate genes involved in adaptation to abiotic stress; rhizosphere signaling; nitrogen-fixing symbiosis; protoplast metabolic characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: genetic determinants involved in legume–rhizobia symbiosis; screening and development of rhizobial inoculants; study of soil microbial ecology through next-generation sequencing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Ever since they first grew on land, plants and microorganisms have developed intricate and dynamic signaling systems to communicate and interact with each other efficiently. Indeed, thanks to these specific and strict associations, plants and their associated microbes can be considered a unique biological entity called the holobiont, the composition of which is shaped by selective pressure to improve plant fitness through the most robust mechanisms of cooperation.
The intimate interactions among plants and associated microorganisms can be beneficial for plants (i.e., synergy with rhizobia, mycorrhizal fungi, and/or plant growth-promoting microorganisms—PGPMs), allowing improved assimilation of nutrients, such as essential minerals and fixed nitrogen; however, some interactions can be detrimental to plant fitness, such as interactions with invading pathogenic microbes that can be saprophytic and lead to necrotrophy in colonized plants.
Co-evolution among plant and microorganisms is a hallmark of both benefic and harmful interactions, since it largely depends on features of the genomes of the interacting partners.
Indeed, if evolution drives beneficial interactions among plants and associated microorganisms toward a mutual improvement in fitness, then, in detrimental interactions, the two partners obtain different advantages: for pathogens, genetic alterations enhance their ability to evade or suppress plant defenses, while plants benefit from innovations that strengthen their immune responses.
This Special Issue will collect scientific contributions on the evolution of plant–microbe interactions, highlighting the most important genetic features shaped by evolutionary processes. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) genetic and molecular explorations of partner selection, encompassing both beneficial and detrimental interactions; (ii) the genetic determinants involved in interkingdom relationships; and (iii) the evolutionary dynamics that shape the holobiont.
Dr. Alice Checcucci
Guest Editor
Dr. Agnese Bellabarba
Guest Editor Assistant
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–microbe interaction
- microbiota
- holobiont
- evolutionary adaptation
- co-adaptation
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