Advances in Genetic Dissection and Breeding for Plant Disease Resistance

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 43

Special Issue Editors

Triticeae Research Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang 611130, China
Interests: wheat wild relatives; disease resistance; gene function; transcriptome; wheat breeding
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Lixiahe Institute of Agriculture Sciences, Key Laboratory of Wheat Biology and Genetic Improvement for Low & Middle Yangtze Valley, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yangzhou 225007, China
Interests: wheat; disease resistance; fusarium head blight; gene function; molecular breeding

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant diseases continue to pose a significant threat to global crop production and food security. Genetic improvement of disease resistance remains a central goal in modern agriculture, with breeding strategies increasingly shifting from traditional methods toward molecular-design breeding. Rapid advances in genomics and biotechnology have enabled researchers to systematically unravel the genetic and molecular mechanisms of plant disease resistance, using approaches such as high-resolution gene mapping, molecular marker development, transcriptome profiling, and multi-omics integration.

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent progress in the genetic dissection of plant disease resistance. We welcome original research and review articles that address key areas including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Identification and fine mapping of disease resistance genes or QTLs;
  • Development and application of high-throughput molecular markers in resistance breeding;
  • Transcriptional regulation and immune network analyses during plant–pathogen interactions;
  • Functional characterization and cloning of key disease-resistance genes;
  • Applications of gene editing and other emerging biotechnologies for enhancing resistance;
  • Integrated multi-omics studies providing insights into disease resistance mechanisms;
  • Marker-assisted selection and genomic selection for accelerating resistance breeding.

We encourage submissions of cutting-edge studies that combine genetic analysis with functional validation and breeding applications. This Special Issue seeks to promote innovation in disease-resistant crop breeding and facilitate the translation of genetic discoveries into practical solutions.

Dr. Lin Huang
Dr. Wenjing Hu
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

  • plant disease resistance
  • genetic resources
  • genetic mapping
  • functional genes
  • molecular mechanism
  • plant–pathogen interaction
  • multi-omics analysis
  • marker-assisted selection
  • modern breeding methods

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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