Physiological and Molecular Responses of Plants to Abiotic Stress
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 October 2026 | Viewed by 1
Special Issue Editors
Interests: plant abiotic stress tolerance; plant physiology and biochemistry; antioxidant defense & redox biology; plant nutrition; transcriptional studies; biostimulants; sustainable crop production
Interests: horticultural plant breeding; functional genomics; genome editing; sweet potato; nutrition; plant physiology and cultivation; abiotic stress tolerance; sustainable crop production
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Abiotic stresses such as salinity, extreme temperatures, drought, nutrient deficiencies, and heavy metal toxicity pose severe threats to plant growth, productivity, and global food security. Understanding the complex physiological, biochemical, ultrastructural, and molecular mechanisms governing plant adaptation and resilience is essential for developing innovative strategies to enhance crop stress tolerance. This Special Issue aims to compile high-quality research and review articles that provide novel insights into plant, particularly horticultural plant, responses to abiotic stressors at multiple levels.
We welcome studies that explore stress tolerance mechanisms, including photosynthetic regulation, redox homeostasis, antioxidant defense systems, ion and nutrient balance, hormonal signaling, and metabolic adjustments. Particular emphasis is placed on transcriptional regulation, gene expression dynamics, and multi-omics approaches (transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics), along with the functional validation of candidate genes. Studies highlighting the role of biostimulants, beneficial elements, nanomaterials, and innovative methodological approaches in enhancing stress tolerance are particularly encouraged. Our goal is to present a comprehensive collection that advances fundamental knowledge and supports the development of sustainable solutions for resilient agriculture in a changing climate.
Dr. Sunjeet Kumar
Prof. Guopeng Zhu
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
- plant abiotic stress tolerance
- oxidative stress
- reactive oxygen species
- redox homeostasis
- antioxidant defense system
- ion and nutrient homeostasis
- biostimulants and beneficial elements
- photosynthetic efficiency
- stomatal and chloroplast responses
- transcriptional regulation
- metabolic and hormonal crosstalk
- secondary metabolism
- omics technologies
- stress signaling networks
- crop resilience and sustainability
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