Cereal Stress Physiology

Dear Colleagues,

Every day we witness climate changes that significantly affect the yields and quality of cereal crops—the most significant source of food, especially in the least-developed countries. Abiotic stress conditions such as drought, floods, salinity, high and low temperatures, UV radiation, air and soil pollution, nutrient deficiency, etc. lead to reduced yields and quality of cereal crops, and very often stimulate the development and spread of plant pathogens. Oxidative stress in plants alter morphological, physiological and biochemical processes—primarily photosynthesis, a key physiological process in plants. Photooxidative damage is the main source of ROS production, causing protein oxidation, lipid peroxidation and DNA damage at the cellular level, leading to cellular and finally plant death. As ROS have dual function, balance between signalling and oxidative roles is crucial to preserve plant metabolic homeostasis. In oxidative stress conditions, the whole antioxidative machinery is activated to eliminate overall ROS production, so an understanding of defence mechanisms is crucial to find ways to enhance them.

The scientific community makes efforts to understand plant tolerance mechanisms and the genetics behind them, and has provided valuable information that breeders use in their breeding programs to create tolerant cultivars and hybrids. This Special issue is devoted to cereal crop research on single or combined stresses in controlled or field conditions. All studies about physiological and metabolic response mechanisms under and after stress conditions at the tissue, organ or whole-plant level are welcome.

Dr. Marija Viljevac Vuletić
Guest Editor

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