Harnessing Plant-Microbe Interactions for Enhanced Biotic and Abiotic Stress Resilience in Plants
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2025 | Viewed by 761
Special Issue Editor
Interests: biological control; plant pathogens; microbial diversity; microbial consortia; plant pathogen interaction; soilborne disease
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In the face of escalating global challenges such as climate change, land degradation, and biodiversity loss, plants are increasingly exposed to both biotic and abiotic stressors. Biotic stressors, including phytopathogens such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, can severely compromise plant health, yields, and quality. Simultaneously, abiotic stressors, such as drought, salinity, heavy metal toxicity, and extreme temperatures, further exacerbate the vulnerability of plants. To address these challenges, understanding and harnessing the natural mechanisms that plants employ to withstand such stresses is critical. One promising avenue lies in the intricate relationships between plants and microbes, which play a pivotal role in enhancing plant resilience.
This Special Issue, “Harnessing Plant-Microbe Interactions for Enhanced Biotic and Abiotic Stress Resilience in Plants”, will explore the dynamic relationships between plants and their associated microbes, to improve plant resilience against both biotic and abiotic stresses. With the increasing challenges posed by climate change, soil degradation, heavy metal contamination, and pathogen outbreaks, understanding and leveraging these interactions is critical in sustainable agriculture. This Special Issue will emphasize recent advancements in microbial-assisted stress mitigation, focusing on the role of beneficial microbes in improving nutrient uptake, regulating plant immune responses, and mitigating stressors such as pathogens, pests, drought, salinity, heavy metal toxicity, and extreme temperatures. This Special Issue will also explore the molecular, physiological, and ecological mechanisms underlying these interactions and applied research showcasing innovative strategies for leveraging plant-microbe interactions in sustainable agriculture. Key areas of interest include the role of beneficial microbes in stress alleviation, the influence of microbial communities on plant health and soil health, and the development of microbial-based biofertilizers and biopesticides. By integrating cutting-edge research in genomics, metabolomics, and metagenomics into studies on plant-microbe interactions, we can enhance plant resilience to both biotic and abiotic stresses, reducing reliance on chemical inputs and promoting environmental sustainability, ultimately contributing to global food security in the face of climate change.
Dr. Waqar Ahmed
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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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-microbe interactions
- biotic and abiotic stress resilience
- beneficial microbes
- biological control
- omics approaches
- microbial community dynamics
- climate change adaptation
- integrated pest management
- antimicrobial compounds
- volatile organic compounds
- sustainable agriculture
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