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Plants for Extreme and Changing Environments: Domestication, Evolution, Crop Breeding...
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Plants for Extreme and Changing Environments: Domestication, Evolution, Crop Breeding and Genetics, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Physiology and Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 6607

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Freddy Mora-Poblete

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Talca, 1 Poniente 1141, Talca 3465548, Chile
Interests: breeding science; quantitative genetics; GWAS; genomic and phenomic prediction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Carlos Maldonado

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Genómica y Bioinformática, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Santiago 8580745, Chile
Interests: bioinformatics; artificial intelligence; genomic and phenomic prediction; genetic networks

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Extreme and changing environments present significant challenges for plant survival, growth and productivity. These environments are characterized by stressors such as extreme temperatures (heat, cold and freezing), salinity, drought, floods, submersion and exposure to heavy metals or acidic conditions, often occurring in combination. Climate change further exacerbates these conditions, leading to profound impacts on natural ecosystems and agricultural systems alike.

This Special Issue aims to delve deeper into the domestication processes, evolutionary mechanisms and genetic and breeding approaches that enable plants to adapt and thrive under extreme and changing environmental conditions. By fostering interdisciplinary contributions, we seek to highlight innovative methodologies and strategies for advancing our understanding and improving the resilience of plants in these contexts.

We invite original research articles, reviews, perspectives and short communications that address topics including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Insights into the evolutionary processes shaping plant adaptation to extreme environments.
  • Advances in crop domestication and breeding for abiotic stress tolerance.
  • Genetic and genomic studies on plants in challenging environments.
  • Interactions between plants and environmental factors, including climate change impacts.
  • Applications of advanced tools and technologies for improving crop performance.

This Special Issue welcomes a broad range of studies, from fundamental research to applied solutions, aimed at addressing the pressing challenges of ensuring food security and ecosystem sustainability in the face of a changing world.

Dr. Freddy Mora-Poblete
Dr. Carlos Maldonado
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

  • extreme environments (e.g., hypersaline, cold, hot, drought prone)
  • climate change and plant adaptation
  • genetic diversity, population structure and resilience
  • advanced breeding strategies and omics technologies
  • crop domestication and re-domestication
  • plant evolutionary processes and adaptation mechanisms
  • deserts, drylands and other marginal ecosystems
  • anthropogenic environmental changes and plant responses

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4531 KB  
Article
Diurnal and Phenological Modulation of Canopy Temperature in Wheat Breeding Under Mediterranean Conditions
by Jesús Flores-Olave, Hamza-Ali Khan, Isadora Pérez, Josefa Pacheco, José Cares, Carlos Araya-Riquelme, Felipe Moraga, Iván Matus, Dalma Castillo, Luis Inostroza, Manuel A. Bravo, Hanns de la Fuente-Mella, Gonzalo Ríos-Vásquez, Alejandro del Pozo and Gustavo A. Lobos
Plants 2026, 15(5), 797; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15050797 - 5 Mar 2026
Viewed by 485
Abstract
Canopy temperature (CT) is widely used to assess crop water and heat status, but it is often recorded at a single hour, implicitly treating CT as a stable trait. Here, we show that canopy cooling is a dynamic phenotype whose expression depends on [...] Read more.
Canopy temperature (CT) is widely used to assess crop water and heat status, but it is often recorded at a single hour, implicitly treating CT as a stable trait. Here, we show that canopy cooling is a dynamic phenotype whose expression depends on time of day, phenological stage, and environment. First, we monitored 184 spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes in two Mediterranean environments (fully irrigated vs. rainfed, contrasting atmospheric demand) using UAV-based thermal imaging. CT was measured six times per day (10:30–17:30 h) at four reproductive stages (anthesis, milk-grain, milk-dough, and dough), enabling quantification of diurnal plasticity, seasonal shifts, and environmental effects on canopy cooling. Second, repeated-measures mixed models confirmed that Location, Stage, and Time of day, and all interactions, were highly significant (p < 0.001). Variance-component analyses showed a strong genetic signal within each Stage × Environment combination, with 87.6–97.7% of total variance attributable to genotypic effects pooled across hours. Third, the optimal phenotyping window was context dependent: under rainfed conditions, genotypic discrimination consistently peaked around mid-afternoon (~15:00 h), whereas under irrigation, the optimal window shifted with stage (13:30–15:00 h). Genotype rankings were also markedly less stable across hours under rainfed conditions, indicating substantial within-day re-ranking as atmospheric demand increased. Finally, thermal exposure analyses showed that exceeding a physiologically relevant threshold (CT > 32 °C) depended strongly on time of day and stage; maximum CT captured short heat events missed by daily means. Clustering and alluvial analyses revealed frequent reclassification across stages, with only a small subset remaining consistently cooler, particularly under stress. Random regression of CT on vapor pressure deficit (VPD) indicated that CT–VPD sensitivity was largely environment-dependent and showed weak cross-environment correspondence (Spearman ρ = −0.166). Overall, single-time-point CT phenotyping provides an incomplete view of thermal status, underscoring the need for multi-temporal protocols and context-specific measurement windows for breeding and physiological interpretation under drought and heat. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plants for Extreme and Changing Environments: Domestication, Evolution, Crop Breeding and Genetics, 2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 3853 KB  
Article
Enhanced Stress Tolerance in Rice Through Overexpression of a Chimeric Glycerol-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (OEGD)
by Jinhong Wu, Meiyao Chen, Fangwen Yang, Jing Han, Xiaosong Ma, Tianfei Li, Hongyan Liu, Bin Liang and Shunwu Yu
Plants 2025, 14(11), 1731; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14111731 - 5 Jun 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1162
Abstract
Crop productivity is severely constrained by abiotic and biotic stresses, necessitating innovative strategies to enhance stress resilience. Glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) is a central metabolite in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, playing crucial roles in stress responses. In this study, we engineered a novel glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [...] Read more.
Crop productivity is severely constrained by abiotic and biotic stresses, necessitating innovative strategies to enhance stress resilience. Glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) is a central metabolite in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, playing crucial roles in stress responses. In this study, we engineered a novel glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) gene, designated OEGD, by fusing the N-terminal NAD-binding domain of rice OsGPDH1 with the feedback-resistant C-terminal catalytic domain of Escherichia coli gpsA. Overexpression of OEGD in rice enhanced tolerance to drought, phosphorus deficiency, high temperature, and cadmium (Cd2+) stresses, while also improving plant growth and yield under drought stress at the adult stage. Notably, the accumulation of glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) and activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, CAT) were significantly elevated in the transgenic plants following osmotic stimuli, and fatty acid profiles were altered, favoring stress adaptation. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that OEGD modulates cell wall biogenesis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging, and lipid metabolism pathways, with minimal disruption to core G3P metabolic genes. These findings highlight the potential of OEGD as a valuable genetic resource for improving stress resistance in rice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plants for Extreme and Changing Environments: Domestication, Evolution, Crop Breeding and Genetics, 2nd Edition)
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19 pages, 4555 KB  
Article
Identification of the Plant Defensin (MsPDF) Gene Family in Medicago sativa and Analysis of Expression Patterns Under Abiotic Stress
by Meiyan Guo, Xiuhua Chen, Shuaixian Li, Jiang Tian, Wangqi Huang and Yongjun Shu
Plants 2025, 14(9), 1312; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14091312 - 26 Apr 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1334
Abstract
Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa) is a major forage crop due to its high yield and stress resilience. However, its growth and productivity are often compromised by abiotic stresses, including cold, drought, and salinity. The plant defensin (PDF) gene family plays a crucial role [...] Read more.
Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa) is a major forage crop due to its high yield and stress resilience. However, its growth and productivity are often compromised by abiotic stresses, including cold, drought, and salinity. The plant defensin (PDF) gene family plays a crucial role in resistance to abiotic stress. In this study, a total of 11 MsPDF gene family members were identified in the alfalfa genome and classified into three groups. Phylogenetic and conserved motif analyses revealed that the MsPDF genes are highly conserved. Promoter analysis, gene regulatory network analysis (GRN), and gene ontology (GO)-enrichment analyses were used to infer the potential functions of MsPDF genes. The results showed that the gene actively responds to abiotic stress, participates in phytohormonal responses, and regulates plant growth and development through gene interactions. Transcriptome and qRT-PCR analyses showed that most of the MsPDF genes were significantly up-regulated under cold, drought, and salinity stresses. Among them, the MsPDF03 exhibited superior performance under cold stress. The MsPDF04, MsPDF08, and MsPDF09 genes were able to respond positively to drought and salt stresses. Finally, the monomeric, dimeric, and tetrameric structures of the proteins encoded by the MsPDF genes were predicted using AlphaFold 2 software. This study lays the foundation for the identification and evolutionary relationship analysis of the MsPDF gene family, and provides a new reference for subsequent research on abiotic stress resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plants for Extreme and Changing Environments: Domestication, Evolution, Crop Breeding and Genetics, 2nd Edition)
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Review

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23 pages, 2540 KB  
Review
Unveiling the Biotechnological and Agronomic Potential of Amazonian Fruit Species from the Genus Eugenia (Myrtaceae): Functional Traits and Applied Perspectives
by Pedro Paulo dos Santos, Josiane Celerino de Carvalho, Elmer Viana Gonçalves, Karen Cristina Pires da Costa, Fernanda Adrielle da Silva Rocha, Acácio de Andrade Pacheco, Hector Henrique Ferreira Koolen, Jaime Paiva Lopes Aguiar, Andreia Varmes Fernandes and José Francisco de Carvalho Gonçalves
Plants 2026, 15(4), 646; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15040646 - 19 Feb 2026
Viewed by 600
Abstract
Eugenia (Myrtaceae) is a highly diverse genus of fruit trees native to the Amazon with remarkable potential for food, nutritional, and biotechnological applications. This review synthesizes the current knowledge on morphofunctional traits, ecological strategies, and genetic resources that make several Eugenia species promising [...] Read more.
Eugenia (Myrtaceae) is a highly diverse genus of fruit trees native to the Amazon with remarkable potential for food, nutritional, and biotechnological applications. This review synthesizes the current knowledge on morphofunctional traits, ecological strategies, and genetic resources that make several Eugenia species promising candidates for domestication and cultivation. Its main attributes include shrubby growth habits, racemose inflorescences, nutrient-rich fruits with few seeds, recalcitrant yet viable propagules, and wide distribution across the Americas. Their molecular and phytochemical diversity suggests applications in food systems, pharmaceuticals, and bioindustries. However, key challenges persist, such as irregular fruiting, postharvest perishability, limited germplasm conservation in degraded areas, prospecting biotechnological applications such as antioxidants, and insufficient genomic characterization. By addressing these gaps, Eugenia domestication could contribute to food security, sustainable agriculture, and the bioeconomy of remote Amazonian regions, thereby positioning this genus as a strategic resource in the face of biodiversity loss. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plants for Extreme and Changing Environments: Domestication, Evolution, Crop Breeding and Genetics, 2nd Edition)
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16 pages, 588 KB  
Review
Advances in Anther Culture-Based Rice Breeding in China
by Xinxing Chen, Sanhe Li, Wenjun Zha, Changyan Li, Lei Zhou, Aiqing You and Yan Wu
Plants 2025, 14(11), 1586; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14111586 - 23 May 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2401
Abstract
The anther culture-based breeding of rice is a plant tissue culture technique that utilizes rice pollen to rapidly obtain haploid plants. In comparison with traditional breeding methods, this technique shortens the breeding cycle and enables the quick generation of homozygous plants, which is [...] Read more.
The anther culture-based breeding of rice is a plant tissue culture technique that utilizes rice pollen to rapidly obtain haploid plants. In comparison with traditional breeding methods, this technique shortens the breeding cycle and enables the quick generation of homozygous plants, which is of great significance for the development of new rice varieties and the expansion of germplasm resources. With the advancement of technologies, the use of the anther culture technique in rice breeding has matured and has been applied to the development and utilization of new varieties with high yield, multiple resistances, and superior quality, in combination with other breeding methods. This technique has gained widespread attention globally, with many countries adopting it to create new germplasm resources. This study reviews advances in the rice anther culture technique, the factors influencing anther culture efficiency, and the progress in breeding rice varieties using this technique, as well as analyzes the current challenges and future prospects of anther culture breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plants for Extreme and Changing Environments: Domestication, Evolution, Crop Breeding and Genetics, 2nd Edition)
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