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Plants
Special Issues
Molecular Regulation of Plant Development and Stress Responses
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Molecular Regulation of Plant Development and Stress Responses

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 1535

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yong Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Interests: oil crops; development; abiotic stress; epigenetic regulation
Prof. Dr. Zhi Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Interests: molecular mechanism of abiotic stress; molecular plant breeding

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The journals Plants will be jointly publishing a Special Issue on the molecular regulation of crop development and stress responses. As global environmental degradation and population growth continue to escalate, food security has emerged as a critical constraint on human development. The developmental mechanisms of crops and their responses to environmental stress are key determinants of crop yield and quality.

Advances in biology, particularly in molecular biology, have offered promising avenues for enhancing crop quality and stress resistance through targeted genetic interventions. To date, numerous crop genomes provide abundant information for gene functional studies. The in-depth screening and identification of functional genes in crops, coupled with the elucidation of their regulatory networks, show critical value for improving crop yield and quality, as well as enhancing stress resistance capabilities.

This Special Issue will cover a wide variety of areas, aiming to contribute to the overall knowledge of molecular regulation of crop development and stress responses from several aspects. The scope of topics may encompass, but not limited to the following bullets: Crop Genomics; Key Gene Families and Functional Validation in Crops; Molecular Regulatory Mechanisms of Crop Quality; Molecular Regulatory Mechanisms of Crop Development and Stress Responses; Epigenetic regulation of crop traits and so on.

Prof. Dr. Yong Huang 
Prof. Dr. Zhi Liu
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

  • crop genomics
  • key gene families
  • functional validation in crops
  • molecular regula-tory mechanisms
  • crop quality
  • crop development
  • stress responses
  • epigenetic regulation of crop traits

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 4392 KB  
Article
Fumarylacetoacetate Hydrolase Regulates Seed Dormancy and Germination Through the Gibberellin Pathway in Arabidopsis
by Chao Hu, Hua Yang, Xuewen Zhang, Chunmei Ren and Lihua Huang
Plants 2025, 14(21), 3342; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14213342 - 31 Oct 2025
Viewed by 669
Abstract
Tyrosine (Tyr) degradation is a crucial pathway in animals. However, its role in plants remains to be examined. Fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) is the final enzyme involved in Tyr degradation. Studies of a mutant of the SHORT-DAY SENSITIVE CELL DEATH 1 (SSCD1) [...] Read more.
Tyrosine (Tyr) degradation is a crucial pathway in animals. However, its role in plants remains to be examined. Fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) is the final enzyme involved in Tyr degradation. Studies of a mutant of the SHORT-DAY SENSITIVE CELL DEATH 1 (SSCD1) gene encoding FAH in Arabidopsis have shown that blockage of this pathway results in the accumulation of Tyr metabolites, thereby inducing cell death under short-day conditions. Seed dormancy is a critical trait which is regulated by endogenous and environmental cues, among which abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA) are the primary effectors. ABA induces seed dormancy, whereas GA releases seed dormancy. In this study, sscd1 seeds displayed deep dormancy and hypersensitivity to the GA biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol, but not to ABA during germination. However, exogenous GA3 could not completely recover dormancy or germination of sscd1 seeds. Moreover, GA3 level was reduced, which was consistent with the decreased expression of GA3-oxidase 1 in imbibed sscd1 seeds. Furthermore, SSCD1 acted upstream of RGA-LIKE 2. Eliminating the accumulation of Tyr metabolites by inhibiting homogentisate dioxygenase, an enzyme upstream of FAH, completely rescued the phenotype of sscd1 seeds. Additionally, germination of sscd1 seeds was hypersensitive to FAH deficiency-induced accumulation of succinylacetone, which is a Tyr metabolite. These findings suggest that FAH deficiency in sscd1 causes accumulation of Tyr metabolites, thereby disrupting GA biosynthesis and signaling. This resulted in deep dormancy and hypersensitivity to paclobutrazol during germination and highlights the important role of the Tyr degradation pathway in GA-mediated seed dormancy and germination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Regulation of Plant Development and Stress Responses)
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Review

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20 pages, 1776 KB  
Review
Regulation of Pre-rRNA Processing in Plant: Mechanisms, Plasticity, and Developmental Implications
by Nier Chen, Shiyi Huang, Beixin Mo and Wei Xiong
Plants 2026, 15(6), 940; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15060940 - 19 Mar 2026
Viewed by 495
Abstract
Ribosome biogenesis is a fundamental process underlying plant growth, development, and environmental adaptation, and processing of precursor rRNA (pre-rRNA) represents one of its most critical regulatory steps. This review provides a systematic overview of the multi-layered regulatory mechanisms controlling pre-rRNA processing in plants, [...] Read more.
Ribosome biogenesis is a fundamental process underlying plant growth, development, and environmental adaptation, and processing of precursor rRNA (pre-rRNA) represents one of its most critical regulatory steps. This review provides a systematic overview of the multi-layered regulatory mechanisms controlling pre-rRNA processing in plants, with Arabidopsis thaliana as the primary model system. We focus on the genomic organization of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and its epigenetic regulation, illustrating how highly repetitive and sequence-diverse rDNA arrays maintain genomic stability while enabling tissue-specific expression of distinct rDNA variants. We further summarize the dynamic pathways of pre-rRNA processing and their plastic regulation under environmental conditions such as elevated temperature. In addition, we review the quality control systems that monitor pre-rRNA maturation, including non-templated tailing and exonuclease-dependent degradation pathways, which play essential roles in removing aberrant processing intermediates. We further examine how perturbations in pre-rRNA processing give rise to plant ribosomopathies and discuss complementary models of ribosome homeostasis and ribosome heterogeneity as frameworks for interpreting shared developmental phenotypes. Finally, by synthesizing genetic and molecular evidence, we highlight the pivotal role of pre-rRNA processing in orchestrating plant development and propose directions for future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Regulation of Plant Development and Stress Responses)
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