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Plants
Special Issues
Molecular, Biochemical and Developmental Adaptations of Plants Under Abiotic Stress
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Molecular, Biochemical and Developmental Adaptations of Plants Under 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: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 717

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Polydefkis Hatzopoulos

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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: molecular biology; plant biotechnology; developmental genetics; abiotic stress and adaptation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Konstantinos Koudounas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Agricultural Chemistry, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: plant biotechnology; specialized metabolism; biosynthetic pathways; functional genomics; biochemistry; enzymology; natural products; phytochemistry; medicinal plants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

On a global scale, ecosystems have already started to face new challenges due to the impacts of environmental changes. According to predictions, the average global temperature is expected to rise, and certain areas will be exposed to extensive drought periods or intense flooding. Despite their phenotypic plasticity, plants will be exposed to harsh conditions, affecting their life cycles and survival rates. Abiotic stresses will impact agriculturally important plants, affecting the growth and yield of these crops, having potentially tremendous effects on global food supply.

This Special Issue of Plants will compile research on responsive and adaptation strategies at the molecular, biochemical or developmental level that confer resistance to abiotic stresses. Moreover, potential topics include (but are not limited to) biotechnological approaches used to manipulate endogenous targets or introduce novel characteristics to fortify plants against abiotic challenges. Both original research papers and review articles are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Polydefkis Hatzopoulos
Dr. Konstantinos Koudounas
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

  • abiotic stress
  • salinity
  • drought
  • temperature stress
  • heavy metals
  • plant tolerance
  • plant acclimatization
  • plant adaptation
  • molecular mechanisms
  • biochemical processes

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 3914 KB  
Article
Genomic and Functional Characterization of Acetolactate Synthase (ALS) Genes in Stress Adaptation of the Noxious Weed Amaranthus palmeri
by Jiao Ren, Mengyuan Song, Daniel Bimpong, Fulian Wang, Wang Chen, Dongfang Ma and Linfeng Du
Plants 2025, 14(19), 3088; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14193088 - 7 Oct 2025
Viewed by 433
Abstract
Acetolactate synthase (ALS) is an important enzyme in plant branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis and the target of several major herbicide classes. Despite its agronomic importance, the role of ALS genes in stress adaptation in the invasive weed Amaranthus palmeri remains unstudied. In this [...] Read more.
Acetolactate synthase (ALS) is an important enzyme in plant branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis and the target of several major herbicide classes. Despite its agronomic importance, the role of ALS genes in stress adaptation in the invasive weed Amaranthus palmeri remains unstudied. In this study, four ApALS genes with high motif conservation were identified and analyzed in A. palmeri. Phylogenetic analysis classified ApALS and other plant ALS proteins into two distinct clades, and the ApALS proteins were predicted to localize to the chloroplast. Gene expression analysis demonstrated that ApALS genes are responsive to multiple stresses, including salt, heat, osmotic stress, glufosinate ammonium, and the ALS-inhibiting herbicide imazethapyr, suggesting roles in both early and late stress responses. Herbicide response analysis using an Arabidopsis thaliana ALS mutant (AT3G48560) revealed enhanced imazethapyr resistance, associated with higher chlorophyll retention. Furthermore, high sequence homology between AT3G48560 and ApALS1 suggests a conserved role in protecting photosynthetic function during herbicide stress. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the ALS gene family in A. palmeri and offers important insights into its contribution to stress resilience. These findings establish a vital foundation for developing novel strategies to control this pervasive agricultural weed and present potential genetic targets for engineering herbicide tolerance in crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular, Biochemical and Developmental Adaptations of Plants Under Abiotic Stress)
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