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The Application of Naturally Derived Molecules and Their Synthetic Analogs...
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The Application of Naturally Derived Molecules and Their Synthetic Analogs in Agriculture and the Fight Against Biotic and Abiotic Stresses That Emerged Under Climate Change

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1633

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Agata Kućko

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Biology, Nowoursynowska 159 St., Bldg. 37, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: abscission zone; crops; organ abscission; plant physiology; stress
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Emilia Wilmowicz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Physiology and Biotechnology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, ul. Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Interests: abiotic and biotic stresses; plant hormone homeostasis; plant physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A major challenge in modern ecological agriculture is mitigating the impact of biotic and abiotic stresses caused by climate change on plants. Currently, naturally derived molecules and their synthetic analogs are extensively studied to enhance plant growth parameters. Equally important are their potential applications in crop protection under adverse conditions induced by various stresses. In agriculture, these molecules exhibit diverse biological effects, such as boosting plants’ ability to absorb nutrients, enhancing biomass production, and inhibiting pathogen infection. They can function as natural pesticides and fungicides, offering an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional treatments with chemicals harmful to humans and animals, thereby minimizing ecological impact and promoting biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, these compounds may enhance plant tolerance to various stresses, including drought, salinity, pathogens, and extreme temperatures, by modulating pathways such as phytohormonal or redox-related processes. Synthetic analogs of naturally derived substances are engineered to improve efficacy, stability, and specificity in targeting stress-induced mechanisms, reducing crop losses. Both synthetic analogs and natural products represent promising strategies for crop protection, stress management, and sustainable agriculture.

Dr. Agata Kućko
Dr. Emilia Wilmowicz
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 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

  • bioactive compounds
  • biotic and abiotic stressors
  • crops
  • growth stimulants
  • natural products
  • phytohormones
  • secondary metabolites
  • sustainability
  • yielding

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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19 pages, 7399 KB  
Article
Jasmonate-Mediated Mitigation of Salinity Stress During Germination and Early Vegetative Development in Hemp
by Franciszek Kasprowiak, Emilia Wilmowicz and Agata Kućko
Plants 2025, 14(18), 2864; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14182864 - 15 Sep 2025
Viewed by 607
Abstract
Climate change and soil salinization threaten crop productivity, particularly affecting salt-sensitive species like hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), which is gaining importance in sustainable agriculture and bioeconomy. Jasmonates (JAs) offer promising potential for enhancing plant abiotic stress tolerance. Given hemp’s inherently low salt [...] Read more.
Climate change and soil salinization threaten crop productivity, particularly affecting salt-sensitive species like hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), which is gaining importance in sustainable agriculture and bioeconomy. Jasmonates (JAs) offer promising potential for enhancing plant abiotic stress tolerance. Given hemp’s inherently low salt tolerance and limited data on JAs-mediated responses, we investigated salinity tolerance JAs modulation using methyl jasmonate (MeJA; 0.001–0.01 mM) and the JAs-biosynthesis inhibitor mefenamic acid (MEF; 0.01–0.1 mM) applied via seed priming or foliar treatment in factorial experiments with NaCl concentrations of 0.05–0.3 M. We demonstrate that MeJA and MEF differentially modulate responses of Henola hemp variety to salt stress during germination and seedling development. At 0.1 M NaCl, 0.01 mM MeJA enhanced germination rate by 25% compared to the salt-only control, indicating a protective effect on initial development, whereas 0.1 mM MEF exacerbated salt toxicity by increasing seed damage and reducing respiration by 57%, subsequently suppressing seedling growth. In 25-day-old seedlings exposed to 0.3 M NaCl, 0.001 mM MeJA treatment increased root length by 30 mm, fresh biomass by 50%, chlorophyll content by 20%, and photosynthetic efficiency by 23%, while reducing water deficit by 60% and leaf injury by 40%. MEF co-treatment partially reversed these protective effects, reducing MeJA-mediated improvements, confirming that maintaining JAs homeostasis is critical for salt-stress adaptation. These findings establish MeJA as a promising tool for enhancing hemp cultivation under saline conditions and provide a framework for integrating JAs treatments into sustainable hemp cultivation protocols. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Naturally Derived Molecules and Their Synthetic Analogs in Agriculture and the Fight Against Biotic and Abiotic Stresses That Emerged Under Climate Change)
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20 pages, 2564 KB  
Article
Investigating the Mechanisms Underlying Citral-Induced Oxidative Stress and Its Contribution to Antifungal Efficacy on Magnaporthe oryzae Through a Multi-Omics Approach
by Yonghui Huang, Ruoruo Wang, Yumei Tan, Yongxiang Liu, Xiyi Ren, Congtao Guo, Rongyu Li and Ming Li
Plants 2025, 14(13), 2001; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14132001 - 30 Jun 2025
Viewed by 615
Abstract
Citral, an organic compound found in lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) oil and Litsea cubeba essential oil, has been reported to exhibit notable antifungal activity against Magnaporthe oryzae (M. oryzae), the pathogen of rice blast, which causes significant economic losses in [...] Read more.
Citral, an organic compound found in lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) oil and Litsea cubeba essential oil, has been reported to exhibit notable antifungal activity against Magnaporthe oryzae (M. oryzae), the pathogen of rice blast, which causes significant economic losses in rice production. However, the role of citral in inducing oxidative stress related to antifungal ability and its underlying regulatory networks in M. oryzae remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the oxidative effects of citral on M. oryzae and conducted transcriptomic and widely targeted metabolomic (WTM) analyses on the mycelia. The results showed that citral induced superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities but reduced glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity with 25% maximal effective concentration (EC25) and 75% maximal effective concentration (EC75). Importantly, citral at EC75 reduced the activities of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I, complex III and ATP content, while increasing the activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex II. In addition, citral triggered a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) through the observation of fluorescence. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis and metabolomics analysis identified a total of 466 differentially expression genes (DEGs) and 32 differential metabolites (DAMs) after the mycelia were treated with citral. The following multi-omics analysis revealed that the metabolic pathways centered on AsA, GSH and melatonin were obviously suppressed by citral, indicating a disrupted redox equilibrium in the cell. These findings provide further evidences supporting the antifungal activity of citral and offer new insights into the response of M. oryzae under oxidative stress induced by citral. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Naturally Derived Molecules and Their Synthetic Analogs in Agriculture and the Fight Against Biotic and Abiotic Stresses That Emerged Under Climate Change)
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