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Plants
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Plant Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology (3rd Edition)
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Plant Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology (3rd Edition)

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 5610

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Peng Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: plant abiotic stress; plant physiology; plant molecular biology and biochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The journal Plants will publish a Special Issue on phytoremediation and plant stress physiology. Plants grow and reproduce in complex environments and are exposed to a variety of chemical and physical abiotic stresses, including extreme temperatures, drought, salinity, flooding, excess light, ultraviolet radiation, mineral nutrient deficiencies, oxygen deficiency, injuries, and air, soil, or water pollution such as heavy metals, pesticides, ozone and sulfur dioxide, etc. These abiotic stresses can negatively affect plant physiology and biochemistry, further affecting the growth and development of plants. In order to cope with abiotic stress, plants tolerate, resist, or avoid the harmful effects of stress through various mechanisms. Over the past few decades, a variety of novel methods/technologies have been used to study stress-induced damage in plants, as well as their responses and defense mechanisms. This Special Issue will cover a wide variety of areas, such as the effects of various abiotic stresses on plants, plant stress resistance genes, the regulatory network of stress resistance, and the role of hormones in plant stress resistance. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an up-to-date understanding of plant responses to abiotic stress.

Dr. Peng Zhou
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 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

  • abiotic stress
  • functional gene
  • regulation network
  • plant responses and defense mechanisms to stress
  • phytohormone

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 3342 KB  
Article
The RALF1–eIF4E1 Signaling Axis Mediates Root Hair Elongation, Flowering Time, and Stress Tolerance During Seed Germination and Early Root Growth in Arabidopsis thaliana
by Feirong Zeng, Pian Yang, Guixiang He, Aoxue Wang, Yan Gao and Jihong Zhang
Plants 2026, 15(9), 1369; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15091369 - 30 Apr 2026
Viewed by 238
Abstract
To investigate the coordinated role of RALF1 and eIF4E1 within the FER signaling module in regulating root hair elongation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana, we constructed a ralf1/eif4e1 double mutant via conventional hybridization. Although the roles of the RALF1 [...] Read more.
To investigate the coordinated role of RALF1 and eIF4E1 within the FER signaling module in regulating root hair elongation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana, we constructed a ralf1/eif4e1 double mutant via conventional hybridization. Although the roles of the RALF1 and eIF4E1 genes are well known, the simultaneous absence of them remains poorly characterized. The double mutant exhibited significantly reduced root hair numbers and elongation and heightened sensitivity to ABA, Cd2+, and NaCl stress. The ralf1/eif4e1 double mutant exhibited delayed flowering time and higher numbers of rosette leaves. Fluorescence quantitative PCR analyses revealed that several key genes involved in regulating flowering such as FT, LFY and SOC reached maximum levels in wild-type plants. However, other genes that regulated floral meristem exhibited higher expression levels in the ralf1 mutant, followed by in wild-type plants. This work provides new insight into the RALF1-FERONIA-eIF4E1 module, demonstrating that it converges environmental cues to coordinately regulate root hair elongation, stress responses, and flowering time in Arabidopsis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology (3rd Edition))
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20 pages, 3014 KB  
Article
Hormonal Status and the Probable Role of Phytohormones in Response of Pea Cultivar Sparkle and Mutant E107 (brz) to Aluminum and Iron Toxicity
by Oleg S. Yuzikhin, Alexander I. Shaposhnikov, Tatiana S. Azarova, Polina V. Guro, Miroslav I. Lebedinskii, Edgar A. Sekste, Nadezhda A. Vishnevskaya, Vera I. Safronova and Andrey A. Belimov
Plants 2026, 15(7), 1129; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15071129 - 7 Apr 2026
Viewed by 496
Abstract
Toxic aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) alter the hormonal balance of plants, leading to metabolic disorders and growth inhibition. Plants adapt to abiotic stress by optimizing phytohormone biosynthesis. However, the impact of toxic Al and Fe on plant hormonal status is poorly understood. [...] Read more.
Toxic aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) alter the hormonal balance of plants, leading to metabolic disorders and growth inhibition. Plants adapt to abiotic stress by optimizing phytohormone biosynthesis. However, the impact of toxic Al and Fe on plant hormonal status is poorly understood. Pea cultivar Sparkle and its mutant E107 (brz), accumulating Al and Fe due to disfunction of metal transporter gene OPT3, were cultivated in hydroponics supplemented or not with 80 µM of AlCl3 or 300 µM of FeCl3. Root and shoot biomass of E107 decreased due to Al or Fe treatments approximately by 30%, whereas growth of Sparkle was not affected. The Al and Fe content in the roots and shoots of the metal-treated mutant was circa twice that of Sparkle. Treatment with Al and Fe reduced the content of nutrients (Ca, K, Mg, S) in roots and/or shoots in both genotypes. Compared with Sparkle, untreated E107 possessed lower IAA and higher ethylene and tZR contents in roots but lower GA3, DHZ and tZ content in shoots. Mutant E107 had: lower GA3 and ethylene but higher DHZ, tZ and tZR contents in Al-treated roots; higher ABA, SA, IAA, GA3, DHZ, and tZ contents in Al-treated shoots; lower ABA and SA but higher JA, GA3, DHZ and ethylene contents in Fe-treated roots; higher ABA, SA, IAA, GA3, DHZ, and tZ contents in Al-treated shoots; higher ABA, JA, and GA3 but lower ethylene and tZR contents in Fe-treated shoots. Metal toxicity mainly reduced the content of phytohormones in roots and increased it in shoots. Hormonal disturbances were more significant in E107 than in Sparkle, and the effect of Al was stronger than Fe. Thus, toxic Al and Fe lead to complex, metal- and organ-specific changes in the hormonal status of E107. Hormonal changes might be associated with both defense reactions and the toxic effects of metals on plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology (3rd Edition))
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14 pages, 5513 KB  
Article
Functional Analysis of CbbHLH35 Reveals Its Role in Drought and Cold Stress Tolerance in Caladium bicolor
by Yinzhu Cao, Yan Huang, Huafeng Wu, Ximeng Yang, Fan Li, Shenchong Li and Shunzhao Sui
Plants 2026, 15(7), 1120; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15071120 - 6 Apr 2026
Viewed by 519
Abstract
Caladium bicolor is an important ornamental foliage plant; however, its tropical origin makes it highly sensitive to environmental stresses such as drought and low temperature, which limits its cultivation and industrial development. Basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factors play key roles in plant responses [...] Read more.
Caladium bicolor is an important ornamental foliage plant; however, its tropical origin makes it highly sensitive to environmental stresses such as drought and low temperature, which limits its cultivation and industrial development. Basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factors play key roles in plant responses to abiotic stresses, but their functions in C. bicolor remain largely unknown. Here, a bHLH transcription factor gene, CbbHLH35, was cloned from C. bicolor, and its sequence characteristics, subcellular localization, expression patterns, and potential roles in stress responses were analyzed. The results showed that CbbHLH35 contains a conserved bHLH domain and is localized in the nucleus. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that CbbHLH35 is expressed in different tissues, with the highest expression in tubers, and is significantly induced by methyl jasmonate (MeJA), abscisic acid (ABA), drought, and low-temperature treatments. Transgenic C. bicolor plants overexpressing CbbHLH35 were generated and subjected to drought and cold stress. Compared with control plants, the overexpression lines showed higher chlorophyll content and POD activity but lower electrolyte leakage and MDA content, indicating enhanced drought and cold tolerance. These results suggest that CbbHLH35 plays a positive role in regulating drought and cold tolerance in C. bicolor and represents a promising candidate gene for the molecular breeding of stress-resistant cultivars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology (3rd Edition))
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21 pages, 8045 KB  
Article
Synergistic Interactions Between Leaf Traits and Photosynthetic Performance in Young Pinus tabuliformis and Robinia pseudoacacia Trees Under Drought and Shade
by Xinbing Yang, Chang Liu, Shaoning Li, Xiaotian Xu, Bin Li, Meng Tian, Shaowei Lu and Na Zhao
Plants 2025, 14(18), 2825; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14182825 - 10 Sep 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1253
Abstract
Spring droughts, increasingly coinciding with canopy shade, interactively stress the growth of urban tree species and are poorly understood in Beijing. Three-year-old saplings of Pinus tabuliformis and Robinia pseudoacacia were subjected to comparative analysis under four drought–shade sequences, with a full-light, well-watered treatment [...] Read more.
Spring droughts, increasingly coinciding with canopy shade, interactively stress the growth of urban tree species and are poorly understood in Beijing. Three-year-old saplings of Pinus tabuliformis and Robinia pseudoacacia were subjected to comparative analysis under four drought–shade sequences, with a full-light, well-watered treatment serving as the control. During two periods encompassing the drought to wilting point and subsequent rewatering, we assessed leaf morphology, water status, photosynthetic gas exchange, and chlorophyll fluorescence. Both species exhibited losses in leaf water and carbon assimilation under drought, yet their adaptive strategies substantially differed. P. tabuliformis conserved water through the stable leaf anatomy and conservative stomatal control. In particular, P. tabuliformis under full-light and drought conditions decreased their specific leaf area (SLA) by 23%, as well as showing reductions in stomatal conductance (Gs) and transpiration rate (Tr) along with the drought duration (p < 0.01). As the duration of post-drought rewatering increased, the reductions in the net photosynthetic rates (Pn) of P. tabulaeformis showed that the shade condition intensified its photosynthetic limitation and slowed recovery after drought. Under low-light drought, R. pseudoacacia exhibited a 52% increase in SLA and a 77% decline in Gs; the latter was markedly smaller than the reduction observed under full-light drought. After rewatering, Gs displayed an overcompensation response. The rise in specific leaf area and the greater flexibility of stomatal regulation partly offset the adverse effects of drought. Nevertheless, post-drought Pn recovered to only 40%, significantly lower than the 61% recovery under full-light drought. Moreover, the negative correlation between SLA and Pn became significantly stronger, indicating that the “after-effects” of shade–drought hindered photosynthetic recovery once the stress was relieved. Drought duration eroded the phenotypic performance in both species, while the light environment during drought and subsequent rehydration determined the time trajectory and completeness of recovery. These results validate a trade-off between shade mitigation and drought legacy, and guide species selection: plant shade-tolerant R. pseudoacacia in light-limited urban pockets and reserve sun-dependent P. tabuliformis for open, high-light sites to enhance drought resilience of Beijing’s urban forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology (3rd Edition))
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Review

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20 pages, 1058 KB  
Review
The Role and Regulatory Mechanisms of Cuticular Wax in Crop Stress Tolerance and Yield
by Dezhi Han, Jiaming Lu, Caitong Zhao, Shahid Ali and Zhenfeng Jiang
Plants 2026, 15(4), 554; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15040554 - 10 Feb 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1288
Abstract
Cuticular waxes form a crucial hydrophobic barrier on the surface of aboveground organs in terrestrial plants. It strongly influences crop stress tolerance and yield stability, making them important target traits in modern crop breeding. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in how cuticular [...] Read more.
Cuticular waxes form a crucial hydrophobic barrier on the surface of aboveground organs in terrestrial plants. It strongly influences crop stress tolerance and yield stability, making them important target traits in modern crop breeding. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in how cuticular waxes contribute to crop stress tolerance and yield formation. It covers the chemical composition of cuticular waxes, key pathways and regulatory networks, and the physiological and biochemical mechanisms. In addition, this review highlights the role of cuticle waxes in maintaining crop yield and quality by regulating essential physiological processes, including photosynthetic metabolism and water-use efficiency. Current research indicates that cuticular wax accumulation shows strong crop-specific patterns and is dynamically regulated by environmental factors. Breakthrough studies in major crops have clarified the regulatory mechanisms of several core genes and demonstrated that cuticular waxes enhance stress resistance by strengthening physical barriers, improving water-use efficiency, and protecting photosynthetic structures. A deeper understanding of cuticular wax regulatory mechanisms will help reveal the molecular basis of crop stress resistance and provide both theoretical support and practical guidance for breeding crop varieties with enhanced stress tolerance and stable yields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology (3rd Edition))
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13 pages, 800 KB  
Review
How Warmer and Drier Conditions Drive Forest Dieback and Tree Death: A Review and Conceptual Model for Silver Fir
by Eustaquio Gil-Pelegrín, José Javier Peguero-Pina, Domingo Sancho-Knapik, Enrique Arrechea and J. Julio Camarero
Plants 2025, 14(21), 3308; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14213308 - 29 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1120
Abstract
Agricultural and ecological systems are threatened by extreme and compound climate extremes such as hotter droughts. These events are characterized by elevated maximum temperatures, leading to atmospheric drought, and reduced precipitation, leading to soil drought. Such conditions reduce plant productivity and are increasing [...] Read more.
Agricultural and ecological systems are threatened by extreme and compound climate extremes such as hotter droughts. These events are characterized by elevated maximum temperatures, leading to atmospheric drought, and reduced precipitation, leading to soil drought. Such conditions reduce plant productivity and are increasing mortality trees in forests worldwide. Some forest types are particularly vulnerable to hotter droughts such as some European mountain silver fir (Abies alba) forests. However, we still lack conceptual frameworks linking hotter droughts and rising VPD with growth decline and tree death. This review elucidates physiological responses to drought in conifers with a focus on silver fir. In silver fir declining populations, prolonged stomatal closure under elevated VPD can lead to reduced growth, and impaired xylem development, potentially triggering positive feedback that exacerbates hydraulic limitations. We also review the ecological significance of xylem vulnerability to embolism, identifying the critical water potential thresholds that determine silver fir survival and hydraulic failure risk under soil water deficit. These findings underscore the importance of both atmospheric and soil drought as physiological stressors causing forest decline, and highlight the need for further research into adaptive strategies and early warning indicators in tree species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology (3rd Edition))
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